The Night That Changed Everything!
by Neamh1
Summary: A one night stand was the last thing on Buffy Summers mind when she entered the club with her friend, but things got out of hand and one thing led to another. Now can Buffy simply move on with her life, especially when her one night stand makes a permanen
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Night that Changed Everything

Chapter: 1

Author: Neamh1

Warnings: NC17, Please do not read if you are under age or offended by sexual descriptions.

Disclaimer: Not mine, i'd be a very lucky woman if they were!

AN: I'd like to thank my beta; bestangelfan, for her tremendous work on this story, for all the time she spent going through my work and the suggestions she made which made this a better story and for providing me with the title which i was struggling to come up with. I hope everyone enjoys this story as much as my others, if i get as much feedback as i did before it will all be worth it! Next chapter to be updated at the end of the weekend, happy reading!

The music thumped loudly through her veins as she entered the club. The place was packed and it seemed that everyone was pressed so tightly against one another you couldn't tell where one person started and the other ended. She moved forward quicker to keep up with Faith who was holding her hand and pulling her along. She hadn't been out in such a long time she was surprised that she'd allowed her friend to convince her to go, especially to a place like this.

Buffy Summers didn't go to loud clubs; she went out for meals and to the movies and the fairground. Usually one to only be a little tipsy, she couldn't remember the last time that she'd been completely drunk.

They reached the bar and Faith ordered them a shot of tequila and some other sort of alcoholic drink. She followed Faith's lead, knocking the drinks back, and before she knew it there was another drink in front of her.

"Come on B! I'm not letting you slack tonight, you're keeping up with me even if it means I gotta tip it down your pretty little throat myself." Faith said with a smile as she knocked back a shot of vodka, enjoying the burning sensation that followed.

"Faith, I'm going to be ill tomorrow if I keep this speed up." Buffy complained, wincing at the foul tasting liqueur.

"That's the idea." Faith shouted back over the music. "You wanna dance?"

"Not really."

"Great, lets go." Faith tugged on her hand again and pulled her to the dance floor, dancing along with the music. Buffy stood awkwardly for a moment until Faith pulled her closer and started dancing with her, moving Buffy's hips along with hers to the music. Soon enough Buffy was joining in, 'What the hell' she thought. It's not like she'd ever see any of these people again so there was no reason to be embarrassed by her actions tonight.

She cut loose, closing her eyes and allowing her body to move of it's own free will. The annoying voice that told her she should go home and try to work things out with her boyfriend Riley, was pushed to the side of her mind.

Feeling someone take her arm she opened her eyes to see Faith make a drinking notion to her and she nodded and followed her back to the bar for another drink. She was already feeling the effects of the alcohol in her system but she didn't care and she didn't want to stop, she was having too much fun.

She'd hardly eaten anything in past few days and the drink was going straight to her head. She had to hold the edge of the bar to keep from swaying yet the buzz felt great. She didn't care about responsibilities any more; all she wanted was to get another drink and get out on the dance floor.

Angel stood watching from across the room with his friend, "The brown haired babe is mine." exclaimed his friend Gunn. Angel smirked as he'd had his eyes set on the blonde since she walked into the club anyway. He watched as Gunn walked over to the girls and offered to buy Faith another drink. She willingly took it and when Gunn asked her to dance she kissed her friend on the cheek and followed him out to the dance floor. The blonde turned and scanned the crowd as though she were looking for someone, his heart skipping a beat as her eyes landed on him. Not breaking their contact he crossed the room toward her and stood so close he could feel her breath against the exposed skin on his chest where his shirt buttons had been left open.

"Do you want another drink?" He asked, his hands slipping to her waist. She didn't protest, it was a bold move for him but the alcohol and the desperate need to touch this woman urged him on.

"No, I want to dance." She replied and took his hand leading him to the floor.

Faith watched and laughed as Buffy led the tall dark honey to the floor and pressed her back firmly against his chest as she began dancing. Man was she gonna be embarrassed about her brazen behaviour tomorrow; and it would be Faith's pleasure to rub it in.

Buffy danced seductively against the tall dark stranger. She'd felt someone watching her and as she'd scanned the room she'd met his eyes, she hadn't been able to move her attention away from him. He was the hottest man she'd ever seen! Deep dark brown eyes, tall muscular frame...she was practically drooling just thinking about it, never mind the fact that she was rubbing up against him, his arms fixed, one to her hip and the other wrapped around to her belly. Her whole body tingled when he leant down and kissed the nape of her neck, God she wanted to throw him to the floor and jump his bones. 'Okay that's Faith talking' she thought and smiled. Though honestly she wasn't sure. All she knew was that she wanted him, badly.

"Hey B, me and handsome are gonna take off, you okay here?" Said Faith throwing a glance to the man dancing with her friend.

"Sure, I'll call you tomorrow." Buffy smiled and waved as they left, knowing that if she hadn't been so plastered she would never have stayed alone in a club with a stranger, no matter how good looking he was.

Buffy and Angel stayed in the club until they started kicking people out around 4am. By that point, they had brought several more drinks and had sat making out and fondling each other like teenagers for the past hour. "Do you want to come back to my place for a coffee?" Angel asked, not wanting the night to be over.

"Mmm." she said, not able to form sentences any longer. The alcohol was taking complete control over her system; she couldn't stop touching him, his skin was so smooth, soft and warm.

Angel could see that she was beyond drunk and he knew that he shouldn't be taking her back to his place. She was obviously in no fit state to make any decision about what might happen if he got her alone and he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop himself if she didn't say 'no'. It had been a while since he'd been with a woman and he wanted her so badly. He didn't even realise that he had led her from the club. He looked about the road and found a waiting cab; helping her inside he climbed in beside her and shut the door, giving the driver his address. The cab moved away from the club and Angel wished he hadn't had so much to drink; he might have been able to control himself if he hadn't.

It didn't take long to reach his apartment. He threw a note at the driver, not knowing or caring how much he'd paid and the driver didn't complain so he figured it was enough. He helped Buffy from the cab, she was really unsteady on her feet and he knew she wouldn't make it up to his apartment on her own so he picked her up and carried her to the lift, hoping that he wouldn't fall and hurt them both.

As soon as the lift doors closed he was attacking her mouth and she kissed him back just as eagerly. She managed to swing herself around so that she was straddling him and he pushed her back against the wall and pressed as close as he could get wanting the barrier of clothes between them gone. It look him a minute to get them to his room and open the door, pulling her inside with him and kicking it shut again.

They were a frenzy of movement; ripping each other's clothes from their bodies, touching, kissing and tasting each other like they were dehydrated and taking their first sip of water for the first time in weeks. Their clothes lay in piles on the living room floor as they removed each item from their bodies in a search for bare skin.

"God, you're so beautiful," he said against her neck as he kissed his way down to her breasts. He picked her up again and carried her from the living room through to the bedroom, lowering her to the bed and blanketing her body with his.

"I want you now," she said, not caring about making it last; she just wanted to feel him inside her.

Angel groaned at her words and slowly pushed forward until he was fully seated inside her, a sigh escaping from them both at the blissful feeling of being complete. Held held still, willing himself to calm before it was over before it had even began. Once he'd gotten his body under control again he began rocking slowly back and forth, back and forth kissing every piece of skin that he could reach until the pleasure escalated and he could feel her silken walls fluttering around him. He held on as long as he could and then reaching down he gently pressed against her sensitive bud bringing her spiraling over the edge with him, her breathy moans and his shout of release filling the silent room.

Minutes later Angel rolled to the side to spare her his weight and pulled her into his arms as his breathing calmed and his heart slowed. He heard her breathing steady and when he looked down at her he saw she had fallen asleep. Smiling he pulled the covers over them to keep away the chill then drifted off himself. Not caring that he hadn't asked her name, Angel knew she would be in his arms for the rest of the night, he could wait untill morning to find out the name of the beauty who had given him so much pleasure.

They made love several times through the night, although those times their joining was less frantic and more attentive, both drifting to sleep in between each steamy session until the sun rose high in the sky and both lovers lay exhausted and sated in each others arms.

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

Title: The Night That Changed Everything

Author: Neamh1

Warnings: NC17, please do not read if you are under age or offended by sexual scenes.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Authors Note: Thanks for the reviews, i'm glad that people enjoyed the first chapter and i hope this chapter does the same and answers a few of those nagging questions, please keep your reveiws coming.x

When Buffy woke the next day all she could feel was the pounding in her head. She groaned as she rolled over in the bed and knocked into what distinctively felt like a male body. Her eyes snapped open and she saw him asleep in the bed next to her. Looking around the room, she noticed that she wasn't at home; she must be at his place, wherever that was.

Very slowly she sat up in bed and removed his arm from around her waist where it had been resting. She slipped from the bed without waking him and sneaked from the bedroom into the living room looking for her clothes and finding them on the floor by the front door. Last night was a bit of a blur but she remembered seeing the man in the club and Faith leaving her. After that everything got a bit fuzzy but apparently she had drank even more and come back to this guys house for sex. God, Faith would be so amused at this. She scooped up her clothes and turned around to head for the bathroom, that was when saw him standing in the doorway smiling at her. She covered herself from his eyes as best she could using her clothes in her hands and gave him a nervous smile. He was wearing only his boxers and she could see why she had been so attracted to him last night; he was God.

"Are you leaving?" He asked, disappointed that when he had woke up and she had not been there. He felt a little embarrassed about last night but still, even this morning with everything out of his system, he still wanted her.

"I was just going to use the bathroom, if that's okay?", she asked. She didn't know about him but she had never been in this situation before and she didn't know how to act around him.

"Sure, it's just through here." He said and walked back towards the bedroom, opening the door before his bedroom and nodding towards the room to her.

"Thanks." She said and walked into the bathroom so that she was facing him and he couldn't see her bare backside. She closed the door behind her and took a quick look around. He had said it was okay to use the bathroom so she quickly turned on the water in the shower and stepped inside, wanting to refresh herself a little before going home. She thought about the man outside and realised that she hadn't even asked his name, or if she had she'd forgotten it now. Well she couldn't very well go outside and ask him his name now could she. She'd seem like a real slut, sleeping with someone without asking his name. "Great Buffy, good one" she chided herself.

Angel stood on the other side of the door listening to her as she turned on the water. He was debating whether or not to go and join her, but he wouldn't be able to stand it if she turned him away. Last night, despite their states of drunkenness, had been amazing. He couldn't remember when he had last needed someone so much. Now he couldn't decide whether or not he could just let her walk out of here without knowing that he was going to see her again.

He pushed the door open and closed it behind himself quietly. The room was full of steam; he opened the shower door and she squealed in surprise as the rush of cold air hit her skin and she turned around to find him standing there staring at her with a half smile that she found irressistable.

"What are you-" she started to say then stopped when she saw the way he was looking at her, she thought he might devour her at any minute. He stepped forward into the shower and pulled her into his arms kissing her deeply. Her body tingled with electricity at his touch and she couldn't seem to control her actions. She jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist. He pushed her back against the shower wall, pressing against her to hold her up whist he shimmied out of his boxers that were now soaking wet. Once free he lowered her down onto him and began thrusting, each thrust rubbing against her pleasure bud and sending shivers of pleasure through her body.

It wasn't long before he felt the telltale signs of her approaching climax and so he thrust harder to join her and they shouted out their pleasure together.

Before they had time to calm their breathing, the shower door opened and they both turned their heads to see a blonde woman staring at them in disbelief.

"Angel, what are..? how could you do this to me?" Darla said. "Get out!" she screamed at Buffy and Angel lowered her to the floor and gently pushed Darla out from the bathroom and into the hall.

"Oh God." Buffy cursed and quickly threw on her clothes and ran out from the bathroom and through the living room towards the front door.

"Yes that's right, get out." Darla shouted at her as Buffy turned and saw her and Angel standing by the sofa. Angel now had hold of the woman's arms trying to stop her from attacking Buffy, a pair of boxers covering his recently naked body.

"I'm sorry." Buffy muttered and opened the front door.

"Wait!" Angel shouted to her and she turned one last time to see him dripping wet holding back his girlfriend as she screamed, her anger and pain directed at her.

"What have I done?" she whispered to herself as she shut the door and ran to the elevator. As she reached it she ran inside and pressed the button. She saw Angel come running from the apartment begging her to wait and listen to him. His girlfriend was following behind screaming at them both now but Buffy stood still and waited with held breath for the doors to close before he reached her.

They closed just in time and she let out a sigh of relief, "This is why I don't have one night stands." she said to herself as she waited for the elevator to reach the bottom floor. Once it did, she quickly left the building and almost ran up a few blocks from the apartment building until she saw a pay phone.She dialed in the well-remembered number and waited for an answer, "Faith, can you come and get me?"

Faith got to Buffy in record time, she could tell that her friend was upset and hoped that she had been alright after she had left her last night, "Are you okay, what's wrong, did he-" She couldn't form one question at a time. She was panicking, thinking that maybe the guy had taken advantage of her friend in the state she had been in and that it was all her fault; she never should have left Buffy alone last night. Gunn had assured her that his friend was a good guy but she didn't know Gunn so how could she trust him. She'd been chiding herself all morning for leaving Buffy alone, especially after she called her place and got no answer.

"I'm okay, just a little out of it." Buffy sniffled.

"What happened? I take it this is his place?" place nodded to the large apartment building outside the car.

"No, I walked a few blocks to find the phone."

"Why couldn't he bring you home? or why couldn't you use his phone?" Faith demanded wanting to get all the information before she found out where this guy lived and went around to cut off his penis.

"We were kind of interrupted this morning, by...his girlfriend, she came in and caught us in the shower together. I didn't even know he had a girlfriend, I don't even know what his name is." Buffy shouted and thumped her fist on the dashboard. "Remind me never to go out drinking with you again."

"Okay calm down. Look, you were drunk, it was a one night stand, just forget about it now; it's his problem. You were innocent; you didn't know he was involved with someone. He knew exactly what he was getting himself into so let him sort out the problem now." Faith advised, she was going to have some serious topics to discuss when she got home.

"But that poor woman, you should have seen her Faith. She was so upset; she kept screaming at me and trying to attack me. He had to hold her back to keep her away from me! And when I left, he tried to follow me and called me back. I just feel so bad but it was such an amazing night, at least what I can remember. And this morning, in the shower..." Buffy said, calming down now that she thought of what it had been like to be with him.

"Well sorry B but it's over, that's what a one night stand is, even an amazing one. You both go back to your lives after having one fun night. Besides, do you really want to be with a guy like that? Someone who cheats on his girlfriend and takes women back to his apartment that he only met the night before in a nightclub?Once a cheater, always a cheater. You need to forget about him now. We just won't go back to that club for a while, there's plenty more in town." Faith said and pulled the car away from the cub heading toward Buffy's house.

"Take my mind off things, tell me how your night went after you left?" Buffy asked, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. She had a hell of a headache and just wanted some aspirin so she could go to sleep.

"It went great as usual. Went back to his, had a great fuck and came home about 3am. That boy gave me a real workout, he's got stamina like you wouldn't believe." Faith said thinking back and hoping that Buffy couldn't tell that she really liked the guy. They had spent an amazing night together but not at his place, he had gone back to hers and he was still there now waiting for her in bed. It was the first time she had ever brought a guy back to her place. She hadn't known why she had done it last night, but when she woke with him this morning she was glad she had. She just didn't want to tell Buffy because she would make a big deal out of it and Faith herself didn't know what it meant yet. She'd tell Buffy when she knew what was  
going on.

They pulled up outside Buffy's house, "Thanks for coming to get me." Buffy said giving her a quick hug before climbing out of the blue Citroen. Faith rolled down her window and watched Buffy walk up the path.

"Later B." She shouted and drove away back to her place, excited at the idea that he was going to be spending the day with her but wondering at the same time what had suddenly come over her.

"Hey Angel, man you look bad, take it you had a bad night?" Gunn said as he walked into his friends apartment and sat down next to Angel on the sofa.

"Not really." Angel replied, not wanting to talk about what had happened.

"Well I had a great night, and morning, and afternoon, and evening for that matter." Gunn said smiling.

"Yeah I can tell, chipper isn't the word I'd use to describe you right now." Angel said sarcastically.

"Okay, you're bringing me down, what happened?"

"Nothing at first, it was great. We stayed at the club until closing then came back here. We...were together, she stayed the night and we slept through until lunch. When she got up she took a shower and I joined her and before we knew it Darla was in the bathroom screaming at us and trying to attack her. I had to physically hold Darla back to protect her but she ran away and I didn't get chance to explain. I don't know her name and now I'm never going to see her again. I can't help feeling that I'm going to miss out on something great because of Darla's 'perfect' timing." He was getting more and more frustrated as he relayed the story for Gunn.

"Man that's bad, what was Darla doing here? I thought you two were over for good, she just kept playing you." Gunn said, confused as to why Darla would have shown up. Her and Angel finished months ago after trying to reconcile and finding that it just didn't work.

"She said she wanted to try and convince me to try again; she kept acting like I cheated on her. I haven't even seen her for three months now and we haven't been together for a lot longer than that. We broke up because all she wanted me for was a bed partner. At least I managed to get her spare key from her before she left; I'm just worrying that she made extra copies so she can come around whenever she wants. That means I'll have to get the locks changed again." Angel sighed and covered his eyes with his hands rubbing them and trying to wake himself up.

"The blonde's name is Buffy." Gunn said.

"What? How do you know?" Angel asked.

"Remember the brown haired chick I went home with last night? It was her friend, she calls her B but her real name is Buffy, not sure of the last name though."

"Do you have your girl's number? Can I have it to call Buffy?" Angel asked, suddenly his spirits picking up at the thought of maybe having a chance to explain to her what had happened and who Darla was.

"Sorry I don't have it man. I gave her my number but if she calls I'll pass on the message and see if I can get a number for you." Gunn said. He felt bad about lying to his friend but after Faith had returned and told him everything that had happened he had explained to her and they had decided that they shouldn't say anything to their friends just yet. Faith was overprotective of Buffy and Gunn didn't think she believed him about the whole Darla situation. And since Gunn wanted her to trust him, when she'd asked him not to say anything just yet, he'd agreed.

"Don't forget Gunn, it's important." Angel said, "Look my head's killing. I'm going back to bed for a while, feel free to hang out if you want to." With that he got up from the sofa and went to bed leaving his friend to surf through his satellite channels alone.

Gunn wished he was still at Faiths house but they had decided that their friends needed them and so they had spent the day together and just after dinner they had gone their separate ways. Faith had promised to call him later that night and they were going to go out on a date. He really liked the girl; she was sexy as hell, had spunk and was witty. He doubted he would ever be bored with her and he couldn't wait to see her again. He just hoped that this thing with their friends was sorted out soon; he didn't know how much longer he could continue to lie to his friend.


	3. Chapter 3

Title: The Night That Changed Everything

Author: Neamh1

Warnings: NC-17, please do not read if you are under age or offended by sexual scenes

Disclaimer: Not Mine

AN: Thanks for all the good reviews and please keep them coming, i hope you enjoy this new chapter!

Faith let herself into Buffy's house and started shouting for Buffy, "Shh, she's sleeping." Came an annoyed voice from the sofa. Faith looked up to see Riley sitting with a cup of coffee.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked, wondering why on Earth Riley would be there after they broke up over two months ago.

"Buffy called me; she said she wanted to talk and that she wanted to get back together. I've decided that she deserves one more chance so we're officially an item again, not that it's any of your business." He said, smugly.

Faith couldn't understand why Buffy would call Riley. It just didn't make sense, the two hadn't been that close to start with and then Buffy had spent last night with another man. It must have been the thing that morning that had screwed up her mind and made her call 'fish boy'.

Buffy and Riley had been seeing each other for less that six months and Buffy hadn't let him into her bedroom. She said he was a good guy, a little possessive but she just didn't feel a connection with him. They had broken up because Buffy's long time school friend had turned up out of the blue and she had offered him her sofa to sleep on. Riley had come by uninvited and punched Xander thinking that he was seeing Buffy behind his back. He couldn't be reasoned with and actually hit Buffy across the face calling her a liar when she tried to explain.

Ignoring Riley, Faith went up to Buffy's bedroom, she found her friend sleeping and felt bad about waking her but she needed to know that everything was alright.

"B, wakeup." Faith gently shook her shoulder.

"Faith?"

"Yeah it's me, what are you doing?" she asked.

"Well I was sleeping until you woke me." Buffy said grumpily, she was not a good morning person. The fact that she was sleeping in the evening made it clear that she was still tired from the night before, the amazing night she had spent with Mr. tall dark and handsome. Now she was going to be grouchy all night because Faith was impatient and couldn't leave her to sleep a little longer.

"You know what I mean, what's Riley doing in the living room?"

"Oh that, look please don't start. I can't take it right now, my head is killing me and I'm just so tired. Can we talk tomorrow? I'll meet you for lunch." Buffy said, yawning.

"Fine, I'll see you at twelve at The Bookworm." she said referring to their daily lunch time hangout.

"Okay, bye." Buffy turned over and pulled the covers higher, she didn't want to think about what was being said down in the living room after Faith had left her room. She knew she wouldn't leave without saying something to Riley and Riley was just as bad; he'd say anything to get Faith riled up.

"You finished now? She tell you what I just told you?" Riley said as Faith walked past him toward the front door.

"Let's get something clear Riley. I don't like you and I don't trust you with my friend. At the end of the day, I pretty much think you're a woman beater and I'm not going to let you hurt my friend again. I'll find a way to get rid of you but in the mean time, if you hurt her in any way I'll kill you...SLOWLY." Faith said and slammed the door shut behind her feeling only a little bit better.

The next day...

"Sit." Faith instructed as Buffy walked up to the table holding a bag containing some sandwiches for them both. She placed the bag down and handed Faith one of the packages then took her seat and unwrapped her own. Faith pushed a cup of coffee over to her and she gratefully took a sip.

"It's okay you know, I asked him to come over. I thought maybe...I don't know what I thought. I just didn't want to be alone, and Riley's been so good, he just sat with me. We didn't argue or anything and he said sorry for what happened before. It makes me wonder if maybe I was too hard on him. I mean, I didn't really explain about Xander..."

"He didn't give you chance to! He hit first and asked questions later. God B, do you hear what you're saying? You said you'd never let anyone hurt you that way again and now you've gone back to him." Faith said in disbelief.

"I know, but he's promised he'll never do it again. Just please Faith let me do this, he's only got one more chance and I want to try again, just to see if there was something I missed the first time. Maybe we could be really happy."

"God that guy really screwed you over, what did he do to you? Where's my friend gone?"

"I'm right here, now can we please drop it?"

"Fine, consider the topic on hold for later, and there will be a later." Faith said and took a huge bite out her sandwich signaling that she was going to shut up. Buffy sighed and took a bite from her own; she knew that Faith wouldn't let things lie. She would be having this conversation again, she'd bet Faith could keep quiet for about a day and half until she had to raise the topic again or risk going crazy.

After lunch Buffy went back to work and finished up for the day, she had plans to go out for a meal with Riley that night. They were going to a restaurant for a meal and then to the movies. Things were still a little tense between them, she felt very guilty about what had happened with Mr Tall Dark and Handsome; which is what she'd named him since she didn't know his real name. She kept worrying what would happen if Riley found out. From what little he'd said since yesterday he thought she had been with no one else and she didn't know how he would take the news. She kept telling herself that she was never going to see Angel again so it didn't matter and there was no reason to spoil their happiness by bringing it up. Besides, she didn't know if Riley had been faithful. Not that he should have been, it wasn't like they had belonged to each other in the time they'd been broken up.

She got dressed in a short black dress for their date and piled her hair up on her head. It had been a really hot day and she wanted to be as cool as possible, feel the breeze against her skin.

Riley picked her up at seven and they went to his favorite restaurant and were shown to their table. Riley ordered for them both and Buffy tried to smile when he ordered the same thing he usually did for her but tonight was not the time to start an argument, especially over something as trivial as the food she was going to have for dinner.

"I just need to go to the bathroom, I'll be back in a minute." She said and stood from the table leaving to go to the Ladies Room.

She pushed open the door and went and stood at the mirror, from the mirror she saw the reflection of the door opening but paid no attention as she pretended to be fixing her hair. Someone grabbed her arm and she was pulled quickly into one of the cubicles. As she gained her balance she looked up to see who had pulled her in and locked the door to find Him standing looking down at her.

"What are you doing?!" she said alarmed, worrying that Riley might have seen him enter the bathroom after her.

"I had to talk to you. I never thought I'd see you again and when I just saw you come in here I had to speak with you, to try and make you understand what happened the other morning." Angel said. He couldn't believe his luck!

"It doesn't matter... I'm sorry I don't even know your name, does that not say something to you? It was a foolish night of sex that will never happen again. I'm sorry if it spoilt things between you and your girlfriend but..." Buffy rambled on, her temperature already risen at having him so close, their bodies touching in the small cubicle, his large frame way too big for the women's toilets.

"Buffy...that's what I'm trying to say! She isn't my girlfriend and it wasn't just one night of meaningless sex. It was an amazing night, we connected and I didn't want you to leave when you did." He tried to explain. "And my names Angel Roake by the way."

"How do you know my name?" she asked, wondering if she'd maybe just forgotten his name after all.

"Your friend told my friend, that's not important anyway. I need to see you again, can I take you for dinner tomorrow, so we can talk properly and not in a woman's bathroom?"

"Angel there's nothing to talk about. I have someone waiting for me outside you know, I'm here with my boyfriend." she said, feeling guilty about the feelings she was having for this man when Riley was waiting for her at their table.

"You have a boyfriend, you were actually with someone when we..." He said disbelieving that someone could have been so passionate with him and have been with someone else at the same time.

"Not then...but now I am, we broke up and that's none of your business. Look I'm sorry if you were expecting something more from me but I can't do this. I'm sorry." she said and pushed her way out of the cubicle, practically running from the bathroom, her heart screaming at her to turn around and go back.

"You took a long time, I was beginning to think you'd gone and left me." Riley said jokingly when she got back tot he table.

"Don't be silly, I was just trying to straighten my hair." she said as the waiter approached and left their food on the table for them. She picked up her food and went to put some in her mouth, as she looked up her eyes fell on Angel who was sitting two tables away from them and staring at her.

She tried to concentrate on what Riley was saying to her through their meal but she couldn't eat and she certainly couldn't participate in their conversation when she was so distracted at how Angel was staring at her. She was torn between her loyalty to giving Riley one more chance and the voice screaming within her to go to Angel and say that she wanted him just as badly. And God he looked so hot in that crisp black suit, she wanted him to throw her on the table and make love to her, 'Bad Bad Buffy' she chided herself as Riley waved his hand in front of her face.

"Where were you, is something wrong? You've hardly eaten a bite, if you didn't want it then all you had to do was say." He said annoyed that she was paying no attention to him.

"No it's not that, I just don't feel too good, would you mind if we skipped the movie? I think I'd just best go home and lay down for while." Buffy said, removing her napkin from her lap and placing it on the table.

"Alright, I'll get the bill." Riley said and went to settle the bill at the front desk whilst Buffy grabbed her purse and scarf, as she walked to the front she locked eyes with Angel one last time and tried to hold back the tears that stung her eyes at the thought of leaving him. She was being ridiculous and she knew it, she had spent one night with he guy and she was crying over him? What was wrong with her?

"You really do look ill Buffy, let's get you home." Riley said putting his arm around her shoulder and leading her to his car. Soon she'd be home and she would be able to let everything out 'just hold it together a bit longer Buffy' she said to herself and thanked Riley as he held the car door open for her and she climbed in.

"Something wrong Angel? You've done nothing but stare across the room the whole night," said Rupert Giles Angel's uncle.

"Was it the blonde girl Angel?" Asked Jenny, his uncle's wife.

"No, it's nothing. I'm sorry, I've completely ruined the evening." Angel apologized, she had actually walked away from him, he'd been sure that she was having second thoughts, that blonde guy wasn't good enough for her, she deserved someone who would pay attention to her and love her.

"It's quite all right. We're in town for good now, there's plenty more chances for us to enjoy a meal together. Would you like to leave now? Is everyone ready?" Giles said, knowing that his nephew was anxious to go.

"Yes, thanks for the meal. I'll see you tomorrow." Angel said and practically ran from the restaurant.

"What on earth has gotten into him?" Giles said as he helped Jenny from her chair.

"Love my dear, I believe he's fallen in love." Said Jenny smiling as they left.

One Week Later...  
"How could you keep this from me? I'm supposed to be your best friend, this is big news Faith."

"This is exactly why I kept this from you, it's not big news, really." Faith said wishing she had never even mentioned anything. She just wanted to get things off her chest and be able to talk about things instead of hiding everything

"Oh no? When was the last time you ever dated a guy for longer than three to five days?" Buffy asked with her hands on her hips.

"I admit it's been a while but that doesn't mean it's never happened. Things were just starting and I didn't want to say anything and risk having things all go to hell when it didn't work out but he's so great. He's rucks of fun and great in the sack! I just decided that now was the right time to tell everyone." Faith said smiling despite Buffy's scowl.

"And so who is he again?" she asked confused.

"His name is Charles Gunn."

"And when am I going to get to meet Charles Gunn?" Buffy asked excitedly.

"You've actually already met him, he's Liam's best friend." Faith said. She had known that they were going to have to have this conversation and she'd been dreading it. After all that Gunn had told her she felt terrible for giving Buffy the push into staying away from Liam. Maybe if she hadn't things would be different and her friend wouldn't be with such an idiot like Riley Finn. At the time she'd just been trying to protect Buffy but now she trusted Gunn and what he had said about Liam but it was too late to go back on her choices.

"I don't know a Liam do I?" Buffy asked, not making the connection.

"He goes by, Liam Roake? Ring any bells?"

"Roake, Angel Roake?" Faith nodded her head in affirmation. "He said his name was Angel, why are you calling him Liam?"

"He uses Liam as his first name cause a lot of people tend to make unwanted comments, only his close family call him Angel."

"Okay, I'll remember _that_ if I ever run into him again." Buffy said. She'd told Faith what had happened at the restaurant and in turn Angel had told Gunn, so Faith and Gunn had spoken about it. Faith had even tried to get Buffy to break up with Riley again but Buffy had refused saying that he'd been really sweet lately sending her flowers at work and leaving her messages saying that he was missing her through the day. She just hoped that Buffy came to her senses before it was too late. Buffy was loyal to the bone and once she committed to someone it took a lot for her to turn her back on them, despite what others may think. Faith supposed she was lucky for that, Buffy had stuck by her in some of her worst times when people were saying terrible things about her and Buffy's friendship had never faltered.

"Anyway, Gunn was the guy I left the club with the night you spent with Liam. We've been spending a lot of time together; we didn't want to hide it anymore. Which is why I'm telling you now, we want you to come to dinner with us. Just you, not Riley, please don't bring him along. We want to go out tonight if you're not busy." Faith said.

"Just you, me and Gunn?" Buffy asked suspiciously.

"Yeah of course, how dumb do you think I am?" Faith said knowing what Buffy was referring to, she wanted to know if they'd invited Liam as well.

"Okay fine, what time?"

"Seven, what are you going to tell Riley?" Faith asked.

"Nothing I'll just say I'm going out for dinner with you, he won't argue." Buffy said, knowing that Riley would likely do anything to avoid her friend. "I'm going home then, are you picking me up or shall I meet you there?"

"I'll pick you up at about twenty too, thanks B." Faith said and Buffy gave her a quick smile before she left, trying not to feel guilty about lying to her friend again.

Later that night...

Buffy and Faith pulled up outside a small Indian restaurant. Faith had said they didn't want to go any where fancy and the small place was an all time favourite of theirs; great food and very relaxed atmosphere. They walked inside and took a seat in a large booth at the back of the place where they could relax in private.

"Gunn should be here soon." Faith said as she looked at the menu trying to keep from looking at Buffy.

"I'm starving, shall we share some rice and naan bread and just have our own main dishes?" Buffy said as she looked over the menu not noticing how tense her friend was.

"Sure, I think I'm having a Chicken Masala." Faith picked.

"I'm going to have a Bhuna." Buffy said and put her menu down, "How long is Gunn going to be?" Buffy asked. Faith leaned out of the booth and looked toward the door, Buffy watched as she smiled and waved at who she assumed to be Gunn since she couldn't see.

Gunn sat down next to Faith and smiled then they looked at Buffy who smiled back, the smiles went on a little too long and she began to wonder why they were acting weird. Everything seemed to turn to slow motion as Angel sat next to her in the booth and faced her. She was speechless that Faith would have lied to her, AGAIN, and set this up. She tried to get up and get past Angel to leave but his large body effectivley blocked her in her seat.

"Buffy please just wait. I haven't come tonight to talk about us; I'm just here for my friend. I promise you I won't say a thing about what happened." Angel said holding up his hands in honesty.

"Please B, just stay, for me?" Faith pleaded knowing that she was going to pay for this betrayal.

Buffy stared at them all for a minute trying to come to a decision, with a sigh she said "Fine, but I won't forget this Faith." then handed her menu to Angel.

They waited whilst Angel and Gunn chose their food and they all agreed on two types of rice and two naan breads to share. Once they'd given their orders an awkward silence descended over the booth. Faith sat staring at her hands in her lap, Gunn looked at the pictures on the walls and Angel looked everywhere but at Buffy.

"So Charles, what do you do for a living?" She asked, trying to start up a neutral conversation and getting a huge scary beaming smile from her friend for her effort.

They discussed everything from Gunn, as he preferred to be called, to Indian food, anything to stay off the topic of Buffy and Angel. They were all grateful when the food came and they dug in, sharing the rice and naan and occasionally ordering more drinks. By the end of the meal the conversation was flowing more easily until Gunn went to order their desserts and Faith got up and followed.

Angel considered getting up and going to the gents to avoid any aguments bound to arise if he tried to talk with her but he felt bad about not being able to talk to Buffy. He felt bad about everything, all he wanted was to hold her and to hear her say that she wanted him as much as he wanted her but he knew that wasn't going to happen. She had made her feelings very clear the other night and he wasn't going to make more of a fool of himself by begging her. So they sat in silence until their friends returned to the table.

"Listen, me and Gunn are gonna go out for a while, we're gonna take my car." Faith started.

"So would you mind taking mine and I'll get it from you tomorrow?" Gunn said tossing the keys to Angel. "Could you take Buffy home for us as well?"

Buffy felt like banging her head on the table, she should have known they would do something, like this.

"Sure, that is if she doesn't mind?" Angel said looking over to her. He knew what their friends were trying to do but didn't know if Buffy would go along with it.

"Fine, whatever." Buffy gave up, why bother fighting it? Gunn was Angel's friend and she was Faith's, they were going to have to see each other every now and again, they should at least try to get along. She knew how much she hated it when Faith and Riley always argued when they were all together.

"Come on then, let's get going." She said after they finished their deserts. She could tell that Faith and Gunn wanted to be alone. They said their goodbyes and Buffy and Angel went out and got into Gunn's car.

"So where do you live?" Angel asked. Buffy told him her address and he started the car and pulled off. "So tonight wasn't so bad was it?" He asked, hoping that they wouldn't have to sit through the whole journey in silence.

"No, except for the part where my best friend lied to me and everyone else was in on the plan except me." Buffy said sarcastically.

"We're really sorry about that, but Faith said you wouldn't have come if you had known; it was the only way to get you there. I don't want you to avoid me Buffy, our friends seem to be getting serious and I don't want to make things hard for them because we can't get along. Is there any chance that we could just try and be friends?" Angel said, if he couldn't have her as his then maybe they could be friends, that way if something went wrong between her and her boyfriend he would be there.

"I guess, it's just a little weird, it's gonna take some time so just please don't push things Liam okay?" He noticed that she'd not called him Angel and realised the Faith must have explained to her why he didn't use his first name. He felt a sting that she wouldn't use the name he'd given but if he wanted to be friends he'd have to accept whatever she wanted to call him.

"Okay." He agreed.

He was silent for the rest of the ride, Buffy looked out of the window to avoid looking at him and when they pulled up outside her house she said thank you and got out and ran inside. Leaning her back against the front door she listened as he pulled away and drove down the street until she could no longer hear the car. Sighing she took a shaky step and went and sat down in the living room. She had spent all night trying to cease her body's reaction to Angel, 'Liam' she told herself. She'd made a point of saying his name in the car so that he heard, now all she had to do was to remember to call him that all the time and not use his other name, it was just too personal at the moment. She needed to get him out of her head, she was thinking about him way too much and not in the right way she should be. If she wasn't careful she was going  
to end up obsessed and that would not be good. She kept wishing that she hadn't called Riley, maybe if she hadn't then things could be different with Angel but she couldn't go back and change the past so now all she had to do was go on with the future. It wasn't like she didn't care about Riley, she just didn't have the same kind of feelings he had for her. If she were to break things off with Riley and try with Angel would things work out or would she just be throwing her relationship away for nothing? After all, this was the way things had started out with Riley. They had slept together on the first date and after  
that she had thought they'd gone too fast and said she wanted to slow down. Six months later and she was still trying to slow things down by keeping their relationship of the non-physical and Riley was going insane from not touching his own girlfriend. He had to be a good guy to go that long without sex and stay faithful to her.

"Urghhh!" she flopped back on the couch and closed her eyes trying to stop the thoughts running through her head. It wasn't good when you were trying to find reasons to stay with your boyfriend. "I'm a terrible person, I'm going to hell! It's official." She flicked on the TV and started to watch some boring chat show to take her mind off things. She read the title at the bottom of the screen and groaned; it read 'I've met someone new, should I dump my partner?'

TBC...


	4. Chapter 4

Title: The Night That Changed Eveerything

Chapter: 4

Author: Neamh1

Disclaimer: Not mine

Warnings: NC17, please do not read if under age or offended by scenes of a sexual nature

AN: Thanks for all the reviews guys, here's the next chapter, i hope you enjoy it!

Two weeks had gone by since her meal with Gunn, Faith and Angel and she felt she was doing really well with Riley. She had hardly thought about Angel lately, which was good...of course not thinking about him in the dayn achieved little when she was dreaming about him at night. It turned out to be a good idea she had decided not to take things further with Riley yet; he wouldn't be too impressed if he was woke in the middle of the night because she was calling out for someone else. She hadn't even realised she was doing this every night until she had a sleepover with Faith, who woke up hearing her calling 'his' name.

Faith had been concerned but Buffy had waved it off and tried to convince her friend she was dreaming about real angels. They both knew she was lying but thankfully Faith had let it drop.

Gunn and Faith were getting really serious. They had been going out for nearly a month now and were together nearly every other night if they could be. Buffy was pleased for her friend; it was nice to see Faith settling down for once instead of jumping from bed to bed. In that time, she had been asked twice to go out with Faith, Gunn and Angel but both times had found valid excuses not to go. Today however she hadn't found anything she could use to avoid their trip. They were going to a culture festival being held somewhere between L.A. and a place called Sunnydale. It was outdoors, spread over a number of fields with live music, dancing, a carnival and loads of other activities. It actually sounded really fun and she had been looking forward to going until she found out that he was going to be there. Now the whole day would be ruined because she would be worrying about trying not to let him affect her, trying to remember to call him Liam and not Angel and trying to keep naughty thoughts out of her mind when she looked at him. It was going to be one long day.

They were all going in one car and were staying over in Sunnydale for the night because it was closer and that way they could all have drink and really enjoy the festival. Riley had said that he would like to go but unfortunately he was away for the weekend; he'd be flying back on Sunday and would call when he got home.

She heard a beep from outside and looked out the front window to see a black convertible pull up as Faith jumped out from the back seat. Buffy went to the front door and opened it, "Just give me a minute.â€ she said to Faith who was grabbing her holdall for her and taking it to the car. She grabbed her purse and took a quick look around to see if she'd forgotten anything.  
Not thinking of anything, she put the alarm on andlocked the front door. Reaching the car she opened the front door and sat in the passenger seat since Gunn and Faith were cozying up along the back seat.

"Ready?" She nodded to Angel and he took off.

"This car is great," she said, having to admit how nice it was. She'd love one of these if she could afford it; unfortunately for her she wasn't a very good driver and so she had to have crappy cars that cost less to repair when she bumped them.

"Thanks, it was a present from my uncle when I graduated college." Angel said with a smile, glad that she shared his taste in cars.

She enjoyed the breeze flowing over her as they drove toward the highway that would lead them to Sunnydale. They were going to take their things to the hotel and then catch one of the busses that were taking people to the festival. Getting comfy, she put on her sunglasses and leaned her head back. The drive was around two hours long if the traffic was good and it was early, only just turning 5am. She hoped, as did the others, that they were going to miss the rush of traffic.

"I was listening to the traffic report this morning and it said the roads were pretty clear for moment. We should make good time to Sunnydale and get there before everyone starts getting out." Angel said and she wondered if he'd read her mind.

"Good, it's already getting warm, I really don't want to be stuck in queues of traffic in this heat. Has anyone brought anything to eat or drink in the car? I haven't had breakfast yet." Buffy asked, starting to feel a little hungry as they hit the main road that would lead them straight into Sunnydale.

"We were thinking of stopping off on the way, there's a small cafe, we should get to it in about 45 minutes. We can all grab some breakfast there." Angel said to her; Gunn and Faith were too involved in each other to pay attention to what she'd asked. Angel leaned forward over her waist making her jump slightly. He popped open the glove compartment and pulled out an unopened bottle of spring water and handed it to her.

"Thanks." she said feeling a little guilty for being so jumpy. Angel seemed like a nice guy and if she wasn't so attracted to him she bet that they could be great friends. It was just so hard to think of him as a friend and not be affected by the brush of his hand or a smile sent in her direction. Opening the drink she took only a bit, she didn't want to take a lot considering it was Angel's. She figured he's need it since he was the one driving all the way. Slipping it back into the glove compartment she looked over at him discreetly and studied him. He'd gotten an amazing tan; not too dark but just enough so that he wasn't pale. His skin looked soft and she remembered all too well how it felt. "What do you do?" she asked him, wanting something to pass the time and keep her thoughts away from their recent naked activities in his bedroom and the taste of his skin.

"Excuse me?" he said, not catching her drift of thinking.

"Work, what do you do?" she asked again.

"Oh, I run a number of bookstores in L.A. for my Uncle Giles." Angel briefly explained, his job was actually a lot more complex but he didn't want to bore her with the details. "How about you?"

"I sell art for a small gallery in town, Diablo's."

"I've been in there before. I bought this amazing 18th century painting. I'll have to show you one time, the work is exquisite and it cost a lot but it was worth it."

"Who sold it to you?" Buffy asked, knowing already that she hadn't been the one, she would have remembered him.

"Small redhead, you know her?"

"Yeah, that's Willow. Sheâ€™s the only red head there is, plus she owns the place so..." Buffy and Willow were good friends and on occasion went out together but Willow was often busy flying around trying to acquire new pieces. She was always in and out of the store but she was really great.

They lapsed into a conversation about art, one they both enjoyed full heartedly. They even lost track of time until Gunn tapped Angel on the shoulder and told him that they were approaching the roadside cafe. They pulled in, grabbed some breakfast and then were back on their way again.

Gunn and Faith fell asleep in the back and Buffy was starting to dose herself, "Why don't you get some rest?" Angel suggested after noticing her eyelids kept drooping.

"No I'm fine. Besides, if I go sleep too who's gonna keep you awake?" She said sitting up straight and having a drink of water, trying to wake herself a little. The early morning was catching up with her now and she was so tired.

"Hey, I've got my Barry Manilow CD; I'll be fine. And if you tell anyone I said that I will have to kill you." He added after she started laughing at his choice of music.

"By all means, Manilow is exceptional and I suppose it's what I would have pictured you listening to in your own time." She said out loud without thinking about what she had just admitted.

Angel smiled at the thought of her thinking about him but didn't want to embarrass her, "Well I do like rap, but Gunn says I make the words sound like gibberish cause I can't keep up so..." he said and they both laughed at the idea of him rapping along and Gunn standing listening and shaking his head.

"Angel? I'm sorry for being so strange about what happened. You're really nice and if things were different then I'd like to think that maybe we could have tried to work things out together. I just wanted...you to know that." She said, Angel reached over and gave her hand a squeeze, he was a patient man; he could wait.

Later that morning...  
"There must be some sort of mistake, we booked the rooms over a week ago and you said it was all confirmed. You took my credit card details and gave me this confirmation number." Faith argued at the front desk of the hotel.

"I'm really sorry Miss Aimes but with the Festival going on we've had a lot of bookings and on one day some of the rooms were double booked. Weâ€™ve had to treat the reservations as first come first serve and the people now occupying those three rooms booked over a month in advance so we had to honor their booking. I really am sorry and if you'd like to come another time we'll offer you a complimentary room for the first two nights." Said the hotel manager.

"Well what are we supposed to do now, we can't sleep in the car!"

"It's okay, calm down girl." Gunn said trying to calmn Faith who was raising her voice and attracting attention from other guests.

"Is there another hotel in town that we can stay at?" Buffy asked. She had a pleasant ride here talking with Angel and they seemed to be on some good ground. He was a great guy and she found that trying to keep him out of her heart was impossible. She wanted to spend some more time getting to know him as friends and this weekend was the perfect opportunity.

"I'm afraid there are only two other places and they are fully booked already. There is however a camping shop just down the high street that has been selling tents all morning to the guests I've had to turn away. Perhaps if you hurry they may still have some left."

"Thank you." Angel said, "Gunn, you and Faith go grab the car from the car park, Buffy and I will run over to the camping shop and see if we can get a couple of tents." Angel said. With that, he and Buffy took off as quickly as they could, leaving Gunn and Faith with the luggage.

When they got to the camping shop there was a queue of people standing by the tills with tents ready to pay and a group of people standing on one side of the shop grabbing tents from the display area. Before he could say anything, Buffy was already over there pushing her way through to the front and attempting to grab a tent. Angel couldn't get past the people, being too large, so he waited until he saw Buffy squeeze her way back to him and the people slowly started to move away.

"Did you get some?" He asked as he tried to reach her and help her through. She handed him a tent and took hold of his hand, everyone was pushing and shoving, fighting over tents and she really didn't want to be in the middle of it all. He pulled her over to the window and she held up the other tent in her hand.

"Got these two, they are only small but they'll have to do. Someone else grabbed the last one, sorry, looks like we'll all have to share."

"Are there any sleeping bags and things left?" Buffy asked looking around, it was a warm day but at night it grew a little cooler and they would need something to cover up with.

"No, but I heard someone mention they were going to try the mall. Let's go pay for these and we can check there." Angel said. They got into the queue and paid for the tents then headed outside and jumped in the back of his car. "We need to go to the  
mall, it should be that way." Angel said and Gunn started the car down the street dodging the pedestrians that were everywhere.

"You only got two tents?" Faith asked, looking over into the backseat.

"That's all I could grab! It was manic in there; Angel had to pull me out before I got lost in the crowd." Buffy said and Faith laughed. "The mall might have some sleeping bags and camping beds left so thatâ€™s what we need to get now." Buffy explained so everyone would know what to get at the mall.

When they got there, there were no parking spaces free and so Buffy and Angel jumped out of the car again and ran inside running past the crowds to get to the right store. When they reached the one they wanted they both grabbed sleeping bags and camping mats, since there were no beds left. They paid for the goods and on the way out Buffy stopped in a bedding shop and grabbed four pillows. They took everything back to the car and put all the things in the trunk.

"Guys, did anyone tell you where we could camp?" Gunn asked as they drove away from the mall and towards the festival which they'd past on the way into town.

"Not exactly, but there's plenty of fields at the side of the highway, we should be able to find somewhere." Buffy said.

"Okay, but if we get arrested for trespassing, I hope you know we're all gonna blame you." Faith said making everyone laugh.

Finally arriving at the festival, they were directed by uniformed men to where they could park their car, which basically meant which field to park it in. From there they had to walk through that field to the next to where the festivities began. Faith had been to the festival a few times and knew what she wanted to do but it was new for everyone else.

"Okay, I wanna go on some rides first, who's coming with?"

"There's no way you're getting me on those things, they're dangerous." Angel said, he wouldn't mind going on a Ferris wheel but that's as much as he could stomach.

"I'm game, how about you Buffy?" Gunn asked.

"You two go ahead I'll take a walk around with Ang-Liam and we'll meet you back here in an hour?"

"Make it two 'cause of the cues to get on the rides. Then we can grab some lunch together." Faith shouted, already walking away hand in hand with Gunn.

"So...which way first?" Buffy asked.

"Let's try this way." They started walking in the direction Angel had indicated and he couldn't help what he was about to say. "Buffy, I know what Faith said to you about my name but it wouldn't mean anything if you wanted to call me Angel. I know it  
would make things less complicated when we're with Faith and Gunn anyway since Faith's started calling me Angel." He said it as though he really wasn't bothered but it meant a lot to him. There weren't many people in his life that weren't family or close friends that called him Angel or even knew what his first name was but he wanted Buffy to be one of them. The way she'd said his name in the car when she was trying to make amends, he wished he could hear his name on her lips all the time, especially whilst they made love.

"It does feel strange calling you Liam, it just doesn't fit as well as Angel." she admitted, glad that she wouldn't have to worry about saying it and making him think it meant something. She was also glad that they could talk about this without feeling awkward, at least she didn't anyway; and Angel seemed to be okay with it.

"It's settled then, so...paintball, quad biking or...is that Salsa dancing?" he said looking around at the three closest activities that surrounded them.

Buffy took a look and decided on paintball, Angel was up for it too so they put on the protective suits and grabbed their guns. The area was sectioned off in the woods in the next field and they were put on separate teams and sent off in different directions.  
Buffy loved paintball, she'd been often with Faith and was glad that she had decided to wear her jeans that morning to protect her legs. She set about finding her enemies, working with her team to get the most points and she was determined to win. Sneaking around the forest, ducking behind bushes and hiding behind trees she sought out Angel. It took awhile and on the way she had been shot at and shot other members of his team but she had finally found him and he hadn't got one bit of paint on him which meant he was either really good at shooting and dodging or really good at hiding. If she wanted to get a clear shot she had to move around to the back of him, and she had to do it quietly because if he heard anything he'd see her and get off his shot first.

She ducked down and ran from tree to tree in a semi circle around him until she was in a position where she was facing his back, or at least she would have been if he hadn't moved.

Looking around the area she couldn't see him anywhere, a bang went off and she felt a sharp pain in her bum, turning around she turned just in time to get another shot to her leg. Sure enough Angel was standing a short distance away behind a tree laughing at her.

"Oh you are so dead!" She shouted and went after him, Angel took off at a run, Buffy managed to get a few shots to his back and one to his arse before they entered a clearing where all out warfare was going on between the two teams. They joined their respective sides, took aim and fired.

Fifteen minutes later the match was up. They went back out of the woods and their points were added up, Buffy was sure her team had won but it was announcedn that they hadn't and Angel's team was all given a stick of candyfloss for their efforts.

As they walked away Buffy took a piece of candyfloss off Angel's stick and smiled. "Hey, that's my winner's prize."

"You cheated, therefore you have to share."

"How on earth could I cheat at paintball?" He laughed at her reasoning.

"You didn't tell me that you were so sneaky, otherwise I might have been more prepared and kicked your ass." she said.

"Oh well in that case, here, help yourself." Angel said still laughing as they shared his candyfloss.

"Come on." Buffy said grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the dance tent.

"Buffy, I don't really dance." Angel tried to object but it was too late; they were already inside and waiting for the next session. The instructor lined them up in pairs giving them enough room to move around, others stood off the temporary wooden dance floor and watched.

As they attempted to follow the instructions shouted out by the dance teacher, they held hands and looked down at their feet trying to get the steps right. "No, no, no, like this." the instructor said and pushed Buffy forward into Angel's arms. "This arm  
holds tight around the waist and this hand holds her hand like so. You," He said to Buffy, "your other hand rests here on his arm and your right leg should be positioned in between your partners, makes it easier not trip up, you see?" Buffy nodded as she repositioned one of her legs slightly between Angel's.

She gulped slightly at their closeness but she wasn't going to fight it, she was having a great time and she wasn't going to spoil things now. Besides this had been her idea, not Angels.

"Okay. The lady facing the man will perform steps complimenting his. So if the man moves his left foot forward, the lady will move her right foot back and visa versa." They all watched as he took a partner from the volunteers and performed the first step of the dance. "Men now follow me. Stop. Tap your right foot. Don't change weight. Don't move your left foot. Right Rock Back, on the 2nd beat of the music. Slide your right foot back and change weight onto the right leg. Don't move your left foot! Left Rock Forward. Change weight onto the Left leg. Don't move your right foot. Step forward and close. Toe first, slide your right foot forward and change weight onto the right leg. Don't move your left foot!" They followed this step a few more times until they were familiar with it and then they put it together with some more moves to create what was called the forward basic. By the end of this, Buffy and Angel had gotten the moves down and were flowing quiet gracefully across the floor. They heard their names being shouted and cheered for at the sidelines and when they had finished their sequence they left the dance floor and went to their friends.

"You two were great." Faith said when they reached them.

"You're back early, you have enough of the rides?" Angel asked, he'd been really enjoying his time with Buffy and was a little disappointed that he now had to share her with their friends.

"Are you kidding, it was great but it's been two hours, you weren't there so we thought we'd come look for you." Said Faith.

"There's no way it's been two hours." Buffy denied and looked at her watch to see that it had been that long.

"Sorry we must have lost track of the time.

"I take it you two were playing paintball before your sexy little salsa dancing?" Gunn teased.

"The paint in Buffy's hair give it away?" Angel said smiling.

"You let me walk around with paint in my hair?" she said disbelievingly.

"It was payback for the bruise on my back side and for you stealing my candyfloss." Angel replied trying to hold back his laughter. He couldn't remember when he'd had this much fun in a long time.

"Well we're all going to have a game later on; shall we go get something to eat? I'm starving." Faith said heading towards one of the food stands.

"You're always hungry." Buffy shouted to her as she followed at a slower pace.

"I can get away with it though." Faith called back laughing and taking off in a run after Gunn, who had decided to chase her.

"They're like two kids when they're together." Angel said laughing as Gunn caught up to Faith and tackled her to the ground.

"Yeah, but they're happy. I can't remember the last time I saw Faith so relaxed with someone." Buffy mused. All talk ceased after they'd ordered some food and found a quite place to sit down and eat. They planned on staying together for the next few hours then having dinner and going off in pairs again. Later that night at seven there was going to be a live music show with different bands and they were going to get a good place to sit and watch it all together.

By the end of the day they were all exhausted and stayed only until eleven before going and trying to find somewhere quite to pitch their tents and sleep. They drove a short distance down the highway back towards Sunnydale and pulled into a small dirt track that led up into the hills. The area was deserted so they pulled the car onto the closest field and pitched the tents up as quick as they could.

"Buffy, do you mind if me and Faith stay in one tent and you and Angel share the other?" Gunn asked, preferring to share his tent with his girl rather than Angel.

"Sure, whatever." Buffy said yawning; she was too tired to be bothered by sleeping arrangements. She threw down her mat inside and lay down her sleeping bag on top. Climbing in her sleeping bag she shimmied out of her jeans and maneuvered out of her bra then snuggled down in her tank top and underwear under the warm cover.

Angel came inside and she turned over so that he could have some privacy, "Shall I close the tent door or do you want it left open?" He asked before laying down.

"No can you shut it, I don't like to think what could wander in whilst we're asleep." She said. She heard Angel close the zipper and felt him moving next to her and getting into his bag. "I had a really great day today," he said but she was already asleep. He smiled and whispered goodnight to her before turning over and trying to get some sleep himself. He knew it  
wasn't going to be easy with her lying right next to him but he had to try; he'd have a long drive tomorrow.

Buffy had fallen fast asleep; she felt safe when Angel was around and she hated camping. She'd always been scared and the only time she had ever agreed to it was when she was camping in her own backyard, and even then it was still scary. She hadn't worried too much about it through the day with Angel and the others to take her mind off it, but as they were trying to find somewhere to sleep she'd starting fretting. She was actually relieved when Gunn suggested the sleeping arrangements. At least now she could get some rest, safe in the knowledge that Angel was by her side.

TBC...


	5. Chapter 5

Title: The Night That Changed Everything

Author: Neamh1

Warnings: NC17, This chapter also has reference to rape and physical abuse, please do not read if you are under age or offended by scenes of this nature.

They had their things packed and were on the road home by ten the next morning. Angel had struggled to sleep knowing that Buffy was so close and he could reach out and touch her. He was actually looking forward to getting home and having some time away from her; it had been torture. Buffy seemed to have slept well herself though and woke up with a smile. He didn't know if he was glad or saddened by the fact that she had slept so well. They were now coming into L.A. and he just had to  
drop everyone off before he could go home and try and relieve some of the tension that had built in him since he'd picked Buffy up yesterday.

"Angel can you drop me off first please?" Buffy asked and he nodded and headed straight for her house. When they reached it, he got out and took her things from the trunk.

"Do you want the tent?" He asked since she had paid for them.

"No, you keep them. You never know with these two; we might be needing them again." she smiled. "I had a great time Angel. Maybe we can do things more often, you know, with Gunn and Faith I mean."

"I'd like that." He said handing her the suitcase.

"Buffy!" They both turned and saw Riley run up the front path.

"Riley, I thought you weren't getting back until late." She said surprised and feeling bad as he kissed her.

"I got an early flight. I'm Riley and you are?" He asked looking at Angel.

"Riley this is Angel Roake, he's Gunn's friend." Buffy introduced them as they briefly shook hands.

"You didn't say that it was the four of you going. I thought it was just you, Faith and her boyfriend." Riley said trying not to let his anger show but both Buffy and Angel noticed it.

"I wasn't going to go, but then managed to get some time off work at the last minute. Shame you couldn't come though, Buffy missed you." Angel said totally out of the blue. Buffy set grateful eyes on him as Riley kissed her cheek again.

"Well I'm back now. It was nice to meet you Angel." Riley said dismissing him and taking Buffy's bag to the front door.

"Okay?" Angel asked quietly so Riley couldn't here. Buffy nodded her head quickly and started up the path waving to Gunn and Faith, "Bye Buffy, call me if you need me." Angel said as he ran halfway up her path to her and slipped a small business card in her hand. She watched as he jogged down her path and jumped into the driver's seat. She felt a sudden tug on her heartstrings saying not to go into the house with Riley but to run down the path and get in the car with Angel. She heard Riley shout to her from inside and turned around and went to, sighing as she closed the front door behind her.

"Did you have a good time?" He asked, some of the anger still in his voice, "I don't appreciate you lying to me Buffy. You should have told me that there was a possibility that some other man would have been going with you."

"Riley, Angel is just Gunn's best friend like I'm Faith's; he's a nice guy. I thought he wasn't coming so I didn't say anything when you asked. You're just overreacting again now can we please just forget this?" She sat down tiredly on the sofa and turned away from him, not willing to have the same argument she'd had when Riley got jealous over Xander.

"I'm sorry; it's just that I worry about you. You know, I actually came home early for you. I've got a surprise." He said taking out an envelope form his jacket pocket and handing it to her.

"What is it?"

"Open it and find out." He watched eagerly as she opened the envelope and pulled out its contents.

"Riley...I don't understand." She said looking at the tickets in her hand.

"I want to take you away Buffy. Everything is booked including your time off from work. It's all sorted; we can get on the plane tomorrow morning and spend two long weeks in Spain. Get away from everything for a while and spend some quality time together. I've hardly seen you since we got back together. What do you say?"

She felt ill but she couldn't say that, to be honest she'd been thinking more and more about her lack of a relationship with Angel and how much she really wanted it. Riley took hold of her hand and tilted her chin up to him.

"Please Buffy." She nodded in agreement not trusting herself to say that she wanted to go with him. "Great, I'll go home and get everything packed and pick you up first thing in the morning, you hold on to the tickets. He kissed her quickly and ran from the house before she could change her mind. She tried calling Faith to speak to her but she hadn't got home yet. Well, either that or she'd decided to stay at Gunn's and Buffy didn't have his number. Just as she replaced the receiver, the phone rang. Picking it up she answered to find Angel on the other end of the line. 'I was just calling to see if you were okay?' She  
smiled at his concern.

"I'm fine, Riley's gone now anyway but I have been trying to reach Faith."

'Don't bother, her and Gunn went out for something to eat, I still have their things in my car. Is it anything I can help with?'

"Maybe, could you let Faith know that I've been trying to get hold of her and if I don't speak to her before tomorrow I'll call her from Spain in a couple of days."

'Spain, you're going on holiday?' Angel asked, disheartened that she was going away.

"Yeah, that's what Riley came around for. He told me that he'd booked us a vacation for two weeks in Spain. We leave tomorrow morning." Buffy explained, feeling bad about having to tell Angel this.

'All right, I'll let Faith know for you. Have a good time and I guess I'll speak to you when you get back?' Angel said trying to keep the disappointment from his voice and failing miserably.

"Thanks Angel, maybe when I get back we can all go out again. Anyway, I'd better go. Speak with you soon." She hung up the phone before she said something she might regret, like she didn't want to go or could Angel come over. She would give her relationship with Riley this one last chance. If she still didn't feel anything for him after these two weeks alone then she would end it. It wasn't fair to either of them to carry on this way. Convinced that she'd made the right decision she grabbed her suitcase and started to do some washing. Maybe this holiday would be good; she needed a break. Two weeks and then she would know. If she was still pinning for Angel then she would end things with Riley. For now though, only time would tell.

The next day at Angel's apartment...

"She's gone where?" Faith asked when Angel told her where Buffy had gone. "I can't believe that she would go away with him."

"She's trying to make their relationship work Faith." Gunn said.

"Yeah I know, but I hate Riley and Angel is so much better for her." Faith moaned as Angel passed them their things from the trunk of his car.

"Faith, sometimes two people just aren't meant to be; you've got to let this go." Angel said attempting a smile.

"But you two had such a great time together at the festival. I thought for sure when she got home that she would end things with Fish Boy.

"Well you thought wrong, and it doesn't matter anymore anyway. Buffy's with Riley and I have a date tonight myself." Angel said.

"Really who with, bro?" Gunn asked before Faith could complain and try to talk him out of it.

"Her name is Kate. We met this morning when I went out for some breakfast. She seemed really nice and asked me out, so I'm picking her up at seven."

"Well good for you man, don't get me wrong I think Buffy's great but you can't put your life on hold waiting for her." Gunn said, Faith kept quiet, knowing that what Gunn was saying was right. If Buffy was stupid enough to choose Riley over Angel then it would be her fault if she decided to change her mind later and found Angel happy with another woman.

"So she's gonna call me?" Faith asked Angel.

"Yeah, she said she'd give you a call in the first week some time."

"Thanks Angel", she said affectionately punching his arm, Gunn got back into Faith's car and waved as they drove away. He wasn't feeling as good about his date tonight as he'd made out to Faith; truth be told he really didn't want to go. It wasn't that Kate wasn't beautiful but he just couldn't stop thinking about Buffy and how good they would be together. He had no choice now; Buffy had made her decision and chosen her boyfriend. He couldn't sit around moping and waiting for things to go wrong between them so he could swoop in and claim Buffy as his own. He wouldn't be love's slave, he'd seen too many people who had been and had their lives ruined. He was going to go on this date tonight and enjoy himself and if Kate was nice then he'd ask her out again. Convinced he was doing the right thing he went back inside to finish up some work before he had to get ready for his date.

Spain...

"Well, what do you think?" Riley asked as the walked into the hotel room and she looked around. It wasn't anything special but it was neat and clean and the AC was working so it was of the good.

"It's nice, shall we unpack or did you want to go somewhere?" She asked, sitting down on the lumpy sofa in the sitting room.

"Let's get unpacked and go down to the pool for a while, then we can go out for dinner later and go somewhere tomorrow. I'm a bit too tired to do much of anything today except for lounging around." Riley said and carried their bags through to the bedroom.

Buffy followed him and they got changed and went down to the small pool in front of the hotel. They grabbed two loungers and placed their towels on them. Buffy took off her skirt and t-shirt and lay down on the lounger intending to at least get in some work on her tan since she had nothing better to do.

"You've put on a bit of weight." Riley said as he sat on his chair next to her.

Buffy's eyes snapped open at his comment and she looked down at herself, she wasn't exactly skin and bones or as thin as she was when she'd been with Riley but she couldn't have gained more than a few pounds.

"I'm not saying you look bad, just a little bigger." Riley tried to amend his statement as he watched her observing her figure.

"Thanks Riley, now I feel a whole lot better." She said and placed her sunglasses over her eyes and making a point of ignoring him. Riley huffed and lay down himself wondering why he bothered; nothing he said was ever right.

After spending a couple of hours by the pool Buffy went back to their room alone to take a nap and have a shower before they went out for dinner. Riley came up whilst she was getting changed and got ready himself. She didn't know how they were supposed to last 2 weeks together if they couldn't even go one day without falling out?

They went down for dinner and Riley tried his best to have a pleasant conversation with her but she was still sore about his earlier comment and couldn't really concentrate on anything he was saying.

"Are you even listening to me?" Riley said annoyed that she seemed to be staring off in the other direction.

"Sorry, I was somewhere else." She apologized.

"Yeah, that's been happening a lot lately. Are you interested in this relationship Buffy because if you're not then I'll leave right now? I'm sorry about what I said earlier; I didn't mean it in bad way. I want this to work out but if you don't then you need to say something now and save me from wasting my time. I brought you all the way out here to spend time with me and try to fix what went wrong and instead you're sitting there daydreaming about being somewhere else." He said exasperatedly.

"I know, I'm sorry, I just don't really feel too good. I promise, tomorrow will be a fresh start. Let's just finish up dinner and get an early night okay?" They finished their meal in silence and then went back up to their rooms. Riley went to his room and Buffy went to hers locking the door behind her in case he got any ideas through the night. The thought of waking up and finding him next to her made her stomach churn and she chided herself again. "Come on Buffy, just give it couple of more days." She muttered as she dressed for bed and climbed in, willing herself not to fall asleep dreaming of a certain tall dark haired man that seemed to be in her thoughts all the time.

L.A.

"I'm glad we did this, and this restaurant is really nice." Kate said to Angel across their table. "So Liam, tell me more about you."

The date wasn't going as badly as he'd expected, Kate seemed nice but very shut off, she didn't much like to talk about herself although he had managed to find out that she enjoyed photography in her spare time and that she had lived in L.A. her whole life.

"Well, I work for my Uncle. He owns a number of bookstores and I manage the ones in L.A. and the close areas for him. I don't have set hours I just do what needs to be done as and when and I get to travel a lot."

"Oh really, where have you been?" Kate asked intrigued.

"All over really but I think the place I enjoyed most was Ireland. The weather wasn't great but the scenery was so amazing and tranquil. I actually thought about going over there to live but then I got into the family business and..." He trailed off leaving the rest unsaid. That was a more complicated story that she would not get to hear.

"It's nice there, I went to the Wick low mountains." Kate said.

"I've been there too. It's really isolated from the rest of Ireland though, why did you choose that location?" He asked.

"It was the sense of isolation from mainland Ireland that makes it an ideal place for scenery photography"

"I'd love to see you're pictures, that is if you wanted to show them to me, some time." He said smiling; maybe they had something in common after all.

He had thought it would be a disaster but it was turning out that he really liked Kate. For one thing they had a love for beautiful landscapes in common. He tried not to focus on the fact that she was a small blonde like Buffy though. He didn't want to think that that was the reason why he had agreed to the date in the first place. It would do no good to compare Kate to Buffy and it wasn't fair to either of them to do it. Taking a deep breath he smiled when she nodded.

"If you wanted we could go for lunch on Saturday and I could bring some photos with me." Kate asked.

"I'd like that." He replied. They finished up their meal and Angel gave her a ride back to her apartment and walked her to the front door.

"I had a nice time tonight, thank you." Kate said as she unlocked her door and stepped inside.

"So did I, I'll pick you up at eleven then."

"I'll look forward to it, good night Liam." She said and went inside closing the door behind her. Angel walked away from her apartment and back down to his car wondering what Buffy was doing right at that moment. The thought of her curled up in bed with Riley made his stomach churn and his good mood instantly vanished as he climbed in his car and sped away from the curb trying to get the images out of his mind. He had Kate to think about now. He had to stop torturing himself over Buffy and move on.

"Yeah easier said than done." He said to himself.

tbc...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter: 6

Title: The Night That Changed Everything

Author: Neamh1

Disclaimer: Belong to the wonderful Joss Wheadon and WB

AN: Thanks for the reviews, sorry for the late update but it's here now, hope you enjoy.

The next morning Buffy woke to the smell of food. Getting out of bed, she walked towards the smell but the closer she got to it, the stronger she could smell it and then the more she felt like vomiting. By the time she reached the kitchen she had to turn around and run back to the bathroom, emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet. Riley rushed in to see what was wrong and pulled back her hair for her as she continued to throw up. When her stomach calmed enough for her to stop heaving, she sat back on the cold tile floor and wiped her mouth with some tissues sitting near the sink.

"Well I was going to suggest we go out for a boat ride today but I guess that's out of the question. You must have food poisoning from the bite of food you had last night." Riley said.

If she had been feeling well enough she would have remarked on his sarcastic comment but she just didn't have the energy.

"Do you need help getting back to bed or is there anything you need?" He asked looking down at her.

"Water." She said but she didn't move from her position, not trusting herself not to throw up if she moved even an inch.  
Riley left the bathroom and returned shortly after with a glass of water for her.

"Do you want me to stay in with you for a while or is it okay if I go out and enjoy some fishing?" He asked.

"Go." Buffy quickly replied, glad to have some time to herself instead of having him hover around her and make comments about how her illness was spoiling their day.

"Okay, call me on my mobile if you need me, I'll keep it switched on." he said and walked out of the bathroom leaving her alone.

She sat thinking about him and came to a decision. As soon as she was feeling better she was going to call things off with Riley and go home. This was ridiculous; she was just making herself miserable being with him when she could be with Angel. Riley didn't even care enough to stay with her whilst she was sick. Hopefully by dinner she would be feeling better and she would call Riley and tell him that it had been a mistake to come with him. With any luck she could get back in time to make things right between herself and Angel. A new spark of hope and excitement washed over her and her stomach reacted causing her to vomit again into the toilet. She faintly heard the sound of the front door closing as Riley left and she continued to be sick, soon this would all be over and everything would be right.

By eight that night Riley came back expecting to go out for dinner with Buffy but found her still in the bathroom, "God you look awful, have you been sitting here all day?" He asked feeling her forehead. "You're freezing cold, let's get you into bed."

"I can't; I keep heaving." She refused and pushed his hands away from her. The last thing she wanted right now was to be disturbed and hauled around into the bedroom.

"Buffy you can't just sit here all night. I think we should go to the hospital, this isn't normal."

"No!" She said quickly, she hated hospitals. "I'll be okay, I just need some rest and to sit still."

"Fine, I'll go see if we can get a bucket or something for you to put next to the bed, then you can go and lie down. If you're still ill in the morning we're going to the hospital." Riley said and left the bathroom in search of a bucket for her. Buffy groaned in pain. Her stomach was killing her and she couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to be sick. She hadn't thrown anything up in a few hours but hadn't felt like moving from her position despite the cold tile floor. Her legs felt shaky and she didn't trust them to carry her anywhere. Riley returned within a few minutes and picking her up from the bathroom floor and carrying her to her bed; he'd placed a bucket on the floor for her.

"I'm going to order something to eat from room service, do you want to try something?" She shook her head, "Okay, I'll be watching TV if you need me." He said and stroked her hair before leaving her alone. She lay down on the bed and turned on her side. She was completely exhausted and just wanted to sleep but she didn't know if she could. Closing her eyes, she  
felt the room spin and quickly opened them again. Maybe she should go to the hospital tonight, she thought. Thinking about it made her feel anxious and unsettled her again so she took a few deep breaths and calmed herself. She'd stay where she was for the moment and then go in the morning if she still wasn't well. She lay staring at the wall, her eyes slowly drifting closed as exhaustion took over and she drifted off into a restless sleep. Riley checked in on her a couple of times before he went to bed himself, hoping that she was better in the morning so they could spend some quality time together.

The next morning Riley woke to the sound of Buffy vomiting, he jumped from his bed and ran into her room to find her leaning over the bed and dry heaving into the bucket he'd left. He ran back to his room and pulled on some clothes then called down to reception and asked them for a taxi to take them to the nearest hospital. Within thirty minutes they were at the hospital. The nurses were taking Buffy into a room and putting her on a drip because she was dehydrated. They took some blood and checked her vitals then told her that a doctor would be in to see her soon. Riley sat quietly on the chair next to her bed and she took deep breaths trying not to be sick again. Half an hour later the doctor disturbed her concentration when she walked into the room and smiled at her .

"Hello Buffy, we've just got back your test results and I'd like to go through them with you if you're feeling up to it?" Buffy nodded her head, "Mr. Finn would you mind waiting outside?"

"I'm not going anywhere." Riley said wanting to know what was wrong with her.

"This really is confidential." The doctor said trying to persuade the young man to leave the room.

"It's okay...he can stay." Buffy said, not wanting Riley to kick up a fuss over being kicked out of the room.

"Alright, we've put you on the drip because you've lost a lot of fluids. You'll need to stay on it for the next three hours or so and then you should be fine to go. I'll give you some tablets to take for the sickness; the nurse will bring them by in a minute. You need to take three a day just before every meal and they should calm things down for you but you need to make sure you eat or you'll make yourself ill." The doctor said as she flicked through Buffy's notes in her hand.

"So what's causing the sickness?" Riley asked.

"Well, from the blood results we've found out that you're pregnant. You're very early on, I'd say about a month along but it would be better if you could provide me with the dates of your last menstrual cycle and we can give you more accurate dates. I'm putting you on a course of folic acid tablets, one per day. They're basically vitamins for you and the baby to  
help development. When you get back to L.A. you'll need to make an appointment with you're Doctor and get checked over. We'll do a scan today before you check out and we'll send it along with all your notes to your doctor, ready for when you return." The Doctor finished speaking and looked up at Buffy and Riley.

Buffy had turned as white as a sheet and was shaking, her breathing slowed down to almost suffocation point, her boyfriend on the other hand had turned bright red, his features set in stone, a look of anger on his face. Perhaps she should have had him removed from the room before telling Buffy the news... "I take it that you had no idea?" Buffy didn't respond and the doctor walked to the side of her bed and checked her pulse.

"Okay Buffy you need to calm down, take deep breaths or you going to faint." When the young girl still didn't respond the doctor clicked her fingers in front of Buffy's face, "Breath Buffy." Buffy's eyes snapped to the doctor's face and her voice slowly filtered into Buffy's brain and she followed the doctor's instructions drawing in deep breaths. "Okay, I think you need to get some rest. Riley if you'll wait in the waiting room please whilst the nurses come and give Buffy her medication so she can rest. You can come back later when we release her if you want to go back to your hotel. If you leave a number with the nurses on the desk they'll call you when it's time." Riley didn't say anything, he didn't look at the doctor or Buffy as he stood and walked from the room.  
He didn't leave his number with the nurses on the desk either, he just walked out from the hospital and as far away from Buffy as he could.

Back in the hospital room the doctor turned to Buffy once she had calmed down a bit and her pulse was back to a normal rate, "I take it that your partner isn't the father?" She made a guess.

"We split up, we only just got back together...I...was with someone" Buffy said in a daze, trying to let the information sink in.

"Well, any information you have about the father's medical history will be useful. It's best for us to know of any possible problems before they arrive. We'll take some more blood from you today and get it sent off for all the usual tests and send the details to your Doctor if you give us the hospital name." She handed Buffy some leaflets and a clipboard with a paper for her to sign. "This is the form you need to sign before we can do the blood tests. It just confirms that you've been given all the relevant information and are agreeing to the tests. If there's anything you don't want to be tested for then don't check the box. The leaflets will provide you with information on the tests. If there's anything else that you want to ask then you can call for me. The nurses will be here in a minute with your tablets and I want you to take one straight away and then we'll get you a little something to eat. I'll be back in an hour to check on you, okay?" Buffy nodded her head, staring at the papers and leaflets in her hands. Once the doctor had left the room she let the tears fall, what was she going to do?

By six that night Buffy had managed to eat some breakfast, lunch and dinner without throwing up her food thanks to the tablets. The doctor had been back and explained to her that some women suffered from morning sickness severely whilst others never got it but that thanks to the tablet she should be okay form now on.  
They did a scan and Buffy kept one of the pictures for herself. She couldn't stop looking at it, even seeing it there, the small little dot attached to her uterus wall; it was still hard to believe. She was having Angel's baby, what a mess! She knew it would be simpler to just have an abortion but the thought of killing her child was just unacceptable; she'd never be able to go through with it. She thought about what she would say to Angel, this screwed up everything that she had wanted. Maybe Angel didn't want this sort of commitment...there was only one way to find out though but she cringed at the thought of having to tell him that their carelessness had resulted in her pregnancy. What was she going to say to Riley, he knew now that she had been with someone else? It's not as though she had been unfaithful to him, they hadn't been together at the time but she knew he wouldn't see it that way. He might not even be there when she got back to the hotel. She'd asked the doctor if the nurses had called Riley but the doctor had told her that he hadn't left a number.

Pulling on her shoes she placed all her tables and the photo inside the small carrier bag that one of the nurses had given her. It contained all information on what foods to eat and what to avoid during pregnancy, how to lift things and what exercises she should be doing to keep herself in shape. She didn't have any money on her, everything was back at the hotel but the doctor had kindly given her the cab fare and called one for her. She jumped into the backseat and gave the driver the hotel name and she was back there within the hour. She walked slowly up to the room and knocked on the door, she could hear him moving around inside making a lot of noise. The door swung open and she looked upon a drunken, dishelved Riley. He looked at her in disgust and then tuned around and walked away, leaving the door open for her.

Walking inside slowly and closing the door behind her she went straight to her room and threw her things quickly into her bag. She would talk to Riley before she went but it was best all around now if she left and went back home. She just wished she knew where Riley had kept the plane tickets. Luckily for her she had her credit card with her. As she turned around to leave the bedroom she halted; seeing Riley's frame blocking her path.

"So I've been thinking." He slurred, a bottle of whiskey in his hand as he pointed at her with his free hand, "It was that guy wasn't it, that tall guy who dropped you off? The one you went away with and spent the night with, you knew him didn't you? You lied to me!" He shouted at her getting angrier by the second.

"Riley, it was after we spilt up. I met Angel in a bar and we were both drunk, it was just a one night stand." she tried to placate him but stepped back when he stumbled into the room towards her.

"You...don't lie!" He shouted again and took hold of her by the shoulders, dropping his bottle of liquor on the floor unnoticed. "You went away with him last weekend, it was all planned, you were seeing him behind my back weren't you?"

"No, it wasn't like that, we're just friends now." she said, trying to pull out of his grasp and getting nervous when he held her tighter, his grip was like steal and she knew she would be left with bruises.

"Don't lie bitch!" He shouted and hit her across the face knocking her to the floor. "You've been leading me on this whole time! Was it fun, have you all been enjoying the show? It's just a game!" He shouted and kicked her in the back then pulled her up by her hair.

"You're just a little slut, won't give any to your boyfriend but you can go and jump in bed with the first guy you see in a bar!" He punched her in the face sending her flying back onto the bed. "You were mine Buffy. I was patient; I gave you all the time you needed but you still wouldn't let me have any. Well now I'm gonna get what I deserved." he said and flipped her onto her stomach on the bed, holding her down with one hand and pulling at her trousers with the other. It took a second for her to register what he was going to do and when she did she started thrashing about and kicking, forcing him to hold onto her tighter. She looked around frantically for something to use as weapon but she could only see the lampshades on the bedside table and she couldn't reach them. By now Riley had managed to get her trousers down to the knees but in his drunken state he was struggling with them and trying to hold her still at the same time. Using all her strength she twisted her body and smashed her elbow into his face knocking him to the floor. She quickly got up and made a run for the door. Riley grabbed her leg and she stumbled hitting her head on the corner of the table as she went down. He started crawling up her body and she reached out grabbing the wire for the lamp and pulling it down. Catching it in her hands she turned around and smashed it over Riley's head. His body went limp on top of her and for a moment she just lay there trying to breath before pushing him off her and shakily standing up. After hurriedly fixing herself up, she grabbed her bag from the bed and ran out of the room before he regained consciousness. As she passed the hotel reception she told the woman behind the desk to call for an ambulance, as there had been an accident in the suite then she left without another word. She caught a cab straight to the airport and stood in the Check In queue.

"I need a one way ticket to L.A. International please." Buffy said handing the woman her passport and credit card. The woman looked at her closely and then checked her computer.

"I have a flight leaving in three hours. You just missed the last flight; they've just closed the gates."

"Please, I need to get out of here before he finds me, can't you get me on that flight?" Buffy said rubbing her head and pulling her hand away with a smudge of blood on it. She must have cut her head when she hit the corner of the table.

The woman looked at her again and then picked up her telephone and spoke with someone. When she replaced the receiver she smiled to Buffy, "They're holding on for you but you have to hurry. I'll get someone to take you through so you don't have to stand in line. When you get on the plane sit down and after take off one of the stewardesses will clean up your cuts for you." The woman said and handed her things back along with a ticket. She called over another woman who led a grateful Buffy through the airport and to the gate where the plane was waiting for her. She got some curious glances as she got to her seat but she didn't say anything and soon enough the plane was in the air and the stewardess was taking her into the back of the plane and cleaning her wounds.

"Boyfriend?" She asked as she placed a butterfly stitch over the cut on her forehead. Buffy winced and nodded silently not really wanting to talk about it. "I had the same problem once." she passed Buffy an ice pack for her eye." You'll be okay now honey, you go sit and I'll bring you a coffee and some paracetamol." Buffy went back to her seat and gratefully took the drink and tablets from the woman when she returned. She couldn't wait to get back home; she didn't know how she was going to explain to Faith about her cuts and bruises. Her friend would likely go after Riley with a butchers knife when she found out. Sighing deeply she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, waiting for the plane to arrive in L.A.

Faith plodded around her living room with the music blasting out from her stereo as she cleaned the floor. She hated doing housework but listening to some music at the same time made it seem like it went faster. She barely heard the phone ringing and only just made it before the answering machine switched on. "Hello?" She said fiddling with the remote trying to  
turn down the music so she could hear who was on the other end of the line. "Buffy is that you? How's the holiday going?"

"Faith I'm not on holiday anymore. I'm at L.A. International, can you come pick me up?" Buffy asked, not really wanting to catch a cab and drive the forty five minutes back with a driver who would chat about nonsense when all she wanted to do was get home and sleep.

"Um, yeah sure. Give me half an hour or so and I'll be there." Faith said and hung up.

Buffy sat in the cafe having something to eat whilst she waited for Faith to arrive. The doctor said that she needed to eat and so she took her tablet and ordered a salad and drink for herself. Then went outside to the car park and looked out for Faith to arrive. Relief and disappointment washed over her as she saw Faith had a companion sitting in the car with her. Upon closer inspection she could see that it was Gunn. Faith slammed the breaks on the car when she got close enough to her friend and saw the state of her face. The large cut across her forehead, the split lip and rapidly bruising eye. Before Buffy could do anything Faith had jumped out if the car and ran towards her, embracing her in a hug.

"I'm gonna kill that bastard." She said as she pulled back. Gunn approached from behind them

"Geez Buffy, what the hell happened?"

"I'll tell you on the way back." They nodded and she climbed into the back seat and Faith drove the car, giving Buffy time to collect together her thoughts. She had to decide what was best to tell them, Gunn was going to go running to Angel and tell him that she was pregnant. "Short story, I got drunk last night and Riley found out that I'd slept with Angel. He was drunk and got out of control. We fought and I had to hit him over the head with a lamp and knock him down, then I caught the first flight back here."

"He hit you?" Gunn said looking back at her.

"Yeah, he was really out of it. He kept screaming and just lashed out. I couldn't stay there."

"I don't think it's safe if you stay at home either, you can stay with me for a while" Faith said.

"Gunn, I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything about this to Angel. I don't want him feeling responsible for this in any way." She said.

"He's gonna find out Buffy, you two are supposed to be friends, why would you keep this from him?" Faith asked.

"I'll tell him, just when I'm ready, please you guys, just let me tell him." Buffy pleaded with them. They looked to each other then Gunn turned back to her.

"Fine, you can tell him tonight, he's invited us around for dinner."

"I really don't feel up to going out tonight guys."

"That's okay, we're not going out we're going to a friends house; it's comfy and casual. We'll go get your things now and then you can come back with me and settle in." Faith said leaving. Buffy was now willing her tears not to fall. She really didn't want to have to face Angel tonight and telling him about her being pregnant but she feared he would be able to tell which was absurd! How was she going to make it through the night?

TBC...


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Title: The Night That Changed Everything

Author: Neamh1

Disclaimer: Belong to the wonderful Joss Wheadon and WB

AN: I'm so sorry for the late – really late update, this chapter is for all you guys who left me great reviews asking for more. I promise to get the rest of this story posted within the next month so please keep checking back.

Angel rushed around the kitchen putting the finishing touches to the pasta that he had cooked for everyone. Faith told him Buffy was coming and so he'd set an extra place at the table for her. He was really nervous about tonight; he couldn't stand still for more than two minutes without fidgeting.  
The doorbell rang and he went to answer it, pulling open the door he smiled, "Hi Kate, glad you could make it" he greeted her, taking the bottle of wine that she had brought as she followed him into the kitchen.

"Something smells great, what are you making?" she asked as she stepped closer to the stove and peered inside the pan.  
"Tomato pasta with salad." He said.  
"Are we expecting someone else? I thought you said it was just going to be Gunn and Faith but the table is set for 5."  
"Faith called and said that Buffy was back from vacation with her boyfriend; she wanted to come along." Angel said just as the doorbell rang again. "That's them, come on." He said taking her hand and pulling her with him toward the door. He had called her earlier and asked her out for lunch, they had been having such a great time that he had wanted to introduce her to his friends and see what they thought. Now that Buffy was coming though, that didn't seem like such a good idea.

He knew that Kate was nervous too, she didn't have many friends outside of work and this whole situation was new to her. Angel pulled back the door and greeted Gunn as his friends stepped inside. Buffy was still standing back outside and he could hardly see her as he hugged Faith.  
"And who's this cute young thing?" Gunn asked referring to Kate who was standing back and watching as Angel greeted everyone.  
"Oh I'm sorry, guys this is Kate."  
Buffy watched as Gunn and Faith shook hands with Angel's girlfriend. Her heart stopped, she thought deeply about what the doctor had told her and she calmed herself and slowly stepped inside at Faith's encouraging look. As soon as she was in the light, Angel's eyes snapped to her face. At first he just looked shocked and disbelieving, then anger came over his face and she winced as he boomed,  
"What the hell happened?" He stepped forward and pulled her more inside; Gunn closed the front door so the neighbours wouldn't hear Angel's raised voice. His fingers softly examined her bruised skin but she winced and pulled away from him.  
"It's nothing." She heard herself saying.  
"Nothing!" Angel almost shouted. He had to turn around and pace a little to calm himself down.  
"Angel, why don't we go and sit and she can explain." Gunn suggested.  
"Kate, Gunn, and I will go in the kitchen and serve out the food." Faith said and they disappeared out of sight.  
Buffy and Angel stood in the hall for a minute. Angel's behaviour was making her nervous after what she'd just gone through with Riley. She wasn't worried that Angel would hurt her it was just that she didn't like him shouting. He walked into his living room and she slowly followed. He didn't sit down and when she reached him he reached out to her and gently pulled her into his arms. The shock of this action opened her floodgates and she broke down crying in his arms.  
When she finally got control over herself again she realized that Angel had pulled them over to the sofa and pulled her onto his lap. He was gently rubbing her back in a soothing motion, whispering calming words to her.  
When he felt her breathing calm, he spoke softly, "Tell me what happened."  
She felt all too awkward sitting in his lap with his girlfriend next door but she fit so perfectly it took all her effort to get up. At least, she wouldn't have to look him in the eyes. "We got to Spain and we did nothing but argue. I slipped up that I had been with someone else and he guessed that it was you. He started going crazy...shouting at me and hitting me."  
"Buffy...he didn't do anything else? He didn't..." He couldn't say the word rape out loud, it just sounded so awful.  
"No, he tried but I hit him over the head with a lamp. He went out cold so I went to the airport and caught a flight home." She said. "I left him there. I just told the receptionist to call an ambulance, I don't know if he's alright or if I..."She trailed off thinking about the damage she may have caused.  
"Well if you didn't I will." Angel said, his anger rising at the thought of Riley hitting Buffy. He had barely enough control to stop himself from hitting something, as he didn't want to scare Buffy, she had been though enough already.  
"Angel..." She tried to say but he wouldn't listen.  
"He hurt you Buffy, he could have killed you!" Angel said, hating the thought as it slipped from his mouth.  
"I'm alright." She tried to convince him.  
"You don't look alright to me." Angel said looking her over. "Did he hurt you anywhere else?"  
"I have a few marks on my back from when he kicked me." She said.

The room was filled with silence for a while, both lost in their own thoughts; a knock on the door disturbed them. Gunn poked his head around the corner, "Food's getting cold. You two okay?" "We're fine, we're coming now." Buffy said and walked to the door, but before she could follow Gunn through it, Angel took hold of her hand and turned her to face him.  
"You can't stay at home; I want you to stay with me." He suggested, "You'll be safe here, I won't let him hurt you again." H said, pushing a stray strand of hair from her face.  
"I'm staying with Faith." she refused, knowing that staying with Angel would only mean torture every minute of every day.  
"Does Riley know where Faith lives?" Angel asked and she nodded reluctantly knowing what he was going to say. "Then I think that Faith should stay with Gunn for a while and you can stay here, just until things calm down."  
"I won't run and hide Angel. If I let him disrupt my life then he wins."  
"And who wins if he comes to Faith's and forces his way in?" he asked, he wasn't backing down on the subject and if Buffy wouldn't agree then he would just have to convince Faith.  
"Can we just please go and eat? We'll talk about this later." Buffy said.  
"Fine, but I'm not leaving you alone at Faith's tonight. I'll camp on her doorstep!" A small chuckle slipped free from her. Angel smiled, glad that he had made her laugh even if only for a second.  
They joined their friends at the dinner table and began eating their food. The conversation was tense and the only person to finish her meal was Faith, everyone else had hardly taken a bite.  
After dessert, Kate made an excuse to leave and Angel went to see her out.  
"I'm really sorry about this evening, this wasn't exactly the way I hoped it would have gone".  
"It's fine. And I hope that everything works out for your friend." Kate hadn't missed the way Angel reacted around Buffy and she wondered if they had once been more than friends. Having thought that, she wasn't willing to give Angel up at the first hard time. He was a great guy and she intended on being in his life. She leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips; he didn't react but he didn't push her away either. "I'll see you Saturday." She said before walking down his path to her car.  
Angel watched her drive away and then went back inside to find everyone seated in the living room. He sat down in his chair and switched off the TV using his remote.  
"Hey!" Faith grumbled with a mouth full of popcorn, "I thought we were going to watch a movie?"  
"We are, just after we get something sorted." He said pointedly gaining everyone's attention.  
"Angel, can you please just leave things alone?" Buffy pleaded, knowing what he was about to say.  
"No. I don't think it's a good idea that you two stay alone at you're place. You've got no one there to protect you and no offence Faith, but the security there isn't great. Plus Riley knows where you live. It could be the first place he checks for Buffy when he gets back and he could get two for the price of one."  
"I never thought about that." Gunn said, agreeing with what Angel was pointing out to them, he hadn't considered the fact that Riley might go to Faith's.  
"What exactly are you suggesting?" Faith asked suspiciously.  
"That you stay at Gunn's and that Buffy stays here, just for a couple of weeks until things calm down. And you probably shouldn't go out alone unless you're in crowded areas." Angel said as an afterthought. It would be impossible for him or Gunn to be with the girls all the time so they needed to be careful when they went out alone.  
"That's fine with me." Gunn said looking to Faith."You okay with that?"  
"Sure, whatever. B?"  
"There's really no need. Come to think of it, maybe I should just go and stay back at my house and..." she didn't get chance to finish her sentence as all her friends cut her off by basically saying - No way!  
"Fine." She said after a long pause, this was going to be torture. 'Two weeks, Buffy. That's all, just two weeks' she told herself and took a deep breath. "Well I'd best go back to Faith's and get my things." Buffy said standing form the sofa.  
"Sit down B. I have to be at work early in the morning. I'll drop them off on my way, I'm sure Angel has a shirt or something you could borrow." Faith said trying to hide the smirk that was forming on her lips. She had been surprised that Angel had invited over his woman friend but she could tell that Buffy and Angel were still attracted to each other and this provided the perfect situation.  
"Yeah, of course." Angel said, "and if they are any more things you need from your place I can take you around there tomorrow to pick them up." Angel said as he got up and ran upstairs to find something for her to wear. He knew what he was letting himself in for by inviting her to stay with him but he couldn't bear the thought of her getting hurt by being careless and staying at Faith's. He would just have to try his best  
to hide his feelings. Besides, he had a date on Saturday with Kate and he was really beginning to enjoy her company although he knew that no one would ever make him feel the way 'she' had that night they'd spent together.  
He grabbed one of his black silk shirts and carried it downstairs, handing it to Buffy once he was in the living room. "I hardly wear that one anymore, it'll likely bury you but it will do to sleep in." He said.  
"You have a spare room then?" she asked, looking around he apartment that could belong to no other than Angel. Everything screamed of him, his tastes...his scent, event his shirt in her hand, she could smell him on it without even lifting it to her face.  
"Yeah, I keep it ready for when my sister comes to stay."  
She stored away that piece of information, she wasn't aware that Angel had a sister. She tried to picture what she would be like and knew that she would like her.  
"Okay, now that that's sorted can you please switch the movie back on before we miss anymore?" Faith groaned and Gunn pulled her closer on the sofa.  
Buffy pulled her feet up onto the single chair she was in and rested her head on the arm of it as the movie flicked onto the screen. She tried to ignore Angel as he kept watching her. Every time she glanced his way he would look away but she knew that he'd been looking at her. Probably looking at the marks on her face and how terrible she looked. She wished now that she'd stayed in Spain with Riley. She might have gotten a bit of a beating but most physical wounds healed; she doubted her heart would if she had to live in the same house where Angel and his girlfriend were together.  
She willed herself to concentrate on the movie and ignore the small giggles and whispers coming from the sofa where Gunn and Faith were sitting.

That had been such a long movie, she thought when it had finished and they were saying goodbye at the door to their friends. Angel closed the door once they'd left and closed all the locks.  
"Did you want to watch another movie?" He asked her, not really knowing what to do or say now that he had her...alone.  
"Actually I'm pretty beat, if you don't mind I'd like to go to bed." she said yawning, she really was tired but more than that she just needed to be alone for a while and come to terms with everything that had happened over the last twenty four hours - finding out she was pregnant, being beat by Riley, moving in with Angel, finding out he had a girlfriend now. It was a lot to handle and she thought that if she wasn't out of his company soon she might break down crying again.  
"Sure, I'll show you to your room." He said and led her along the hallway to her room. "I'm next door and the bathrooms at the end of the hall, make yourself at home and just ask if there's anything you need. I'm gonna clean up and then hit the sack myself." he said smiling to her, she looked exhausted and he couldn't blame her for wanting to go straight to bed despite it still being quiet early.  
"Oh yeah... I'm sorry, I'll come help." She said feeling really rude, if she was going to live here for the next week the least she could do was pull her weight around the house.  
"Don't even think about it, you just go and get some sleep." Angel said to her giving her a small nudge into the bedroom. "Good night Buffy." he said, silently wishing he could join her.  
"Good night Angel." She whispered, as she closed the door, she wanted nothing more than to ask him inside, to ask him to hold her whilst she slept, to chase away her demons. But he was no longer free for her to say that to and she had to accept that. She now had to decide if it would be best that she told Angel about the baby. She could always tell her friends that it was Riley's or someone else's. She didn't want to think about it anymore, she stripped down and put on Angel's shirt. Even this room smelled of him, his clean male smell that she loved. She pulled back the covers and  
climbed in tucking it up under her chin and closing her eyes against everything. She could faintly hear the sounds of Angel washing the dishes and putting them away, some soft music playing in the background as he whistled along. She smiled, the sound of him close by surrounding her with comfort and allowing her to slip into a much-needed deep sleep.

In the kitchen Angel cleaned everything he could in an attempt to stop himself from going into her room. He chanted Kate's name over and over and tried to picture  
her face in his mind, but every time he did she morphed into Buffy. When he'd cleaned everything he could, he went into the living room and took out the rubbish. If he wasn't worried about waking up Buffy and the neighbours he might have even hovered, anything to keep him busy.  
Finally giving up he walked to his bedroom, stopping at Buffy's door on the way and peeking inside to see her fast asleep. Any thoughts of going to her were removed from his mind as he watched her sleeping soundly. He took one last look before closing her door and going along to his room, at least he knew she was safe.

TBC…


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Title: The Night That Changed Everything

Author Neamh1

Disclaimer: Not mine

AN: Thanks for the lovely comments from my last chapter, as promised here is an update - enjoy guys!

The next morning Buffy awoke feeling disorientated; she looked around and panicked when she didn't recognise her surroundings. When she finally remembered where she was, she calmed a little. Climbing from the bed she looked at the small clock on the bedside table. It was still only early, half past six, but she was starving and feeling a little nauseous. "Shit!"She cursed when she realised her tablets where at Faith's. Faith had said she would be coming by early to drop off her things but she didn't know what time. Opening the door to her bedroom she couldn't hear any noise so she quickly moved along the hall and into the living room with the intent of looking out the window. She stopped short when she saw Angel closing the front door standing in only a pair of boxers with her bag and a box of things.

"Uh, morning." She said feeling awkward at their states of dress; at least she was a little more covered than Angel as his shirt falling down to her mid thigh.

"Faith knocked on and ran off leaving these in the hallway," he said nodding to the things in his hands.

"Oh, here let me help you." She said and took the box from him. It was only light and it had everything in that she needed, her tablets from her doctor plus the scan photo which she really didn't want Angel seeing. She just hoped that Faith hadn't been looking through her things either; otherwise she was gong to have some explaining to do. She carried the box to her room and Angel followed, trying to keep his head up high and not look down at her body. He was trying to avoid noticing how great she looked in one of his shirts. He placed the heavy bag on the bed for her.

"Do you need any help? There's coat hangers in the wardrobe and the drawers are all empty."

"That's okay, thanks. I'm gonna leave it 'till later;I'm too hungry to do anything but eat right now." She said."I can cook us something, what would you like, pancakes or a fried breakfast?" He asked.

"Both?" She said, not being able to decide which sounded best. Angel laughed, refreshed to see a woman with an appetite, at least one that wasn't Faith.

"Okay, give me a few minutes." He said and went back to his room to grab a shirt and some trousers. When Buffy went into the living room dressed in Angel's shirt and some shorts, she was disappointed to see that Angel had also put on some more clothing. She had taken her tablet in the bedroom and was feeling very hungry. She had hardly eaten anything yesterday and now it was catching up with her, plus the smell of the bacon and eggs that Angel was cooking smelt great. She moved around him at his instruction, grabbing plates and glasses for them and making them both a drink of coffee and a glass of fresh orange from the fridge. Within a few minutes Angel had piled the table full of food and they were both tucking into the assortment in a comfortable silence.

"Mmmm, this is great." She said after a few mouthfuls.

"It's a change cooking for more than just myself, it's nice to have the company." He said putting some bacon onto his toast and making a sandwich. "Did you want to go and get some thing from your house after breakfast?"

"Yeah, I have this week and next off work anyway so there's no rush, of course if you have to go to work..." she said.

"Not today. Besides I mostly work from home but if I have to go out you can always come with me, get out of the apartment for some fresh air." He suggested they went to get her things after breakfast and come back so she could unpack, then they planned on going for a walk on the beach and going to grab some lunch in a cafe in town. Buffy showered and changed into her short denim skirt and a yellow halter top with some comfy flat sandals, it was really warm outside and she wanted to be cool. She also needed to find a way of making an appointment with her doctor and going there without Angel finding out. Walking out of her bedroom, she found Angel waiting in the front room wearing a tight black t-shirt and a pair of beige combat shorts. He looked great and she had to remind herself not to stare.

"Okay, I'm ready." She said.

Angel held out his hand to her and placed a key in it, "It's your key to the place so you can come and go as you please. If you hold the key up to the security lock downstairs it opens the main doors after the lock out time. Have you still got my telephone number?" He asked and she nodded. "Give it to anyone you need, I'll put your name on the answer machine whilst you're here. Ok...shall we go?" He said and opened the door for her. They walked out and went down to the car park and Angel drove them to her house.

As they pulled into Buffy's street they had to stop the car at the end because the street was full with police cars, fire engines and people lined up in the pajamas watching the street."What the hell?" She said and climbed out of the car following the crowd; Angel was close on her heels. When she reached the point of commotion she stopped dead and stared in disbelief at her house as the fireman fought to put out the blaze.

"Buffy, Buffy dear, thank heavens you're not inside! That police officer over there needs to talk to you,"one of her neighbours said. Buffy ran toward the officer.

"Officer, this is my house." She said when she reached him.

"You're Miss Summers?" He asked, "Is there any one that you know of that could be inside?" he asked.

"No, I've been away on holiday." She said and waited whilst he told another officer to inform the fire fighters that the house should be empty.

"Miss Summers, please step this way." He said lifting the police tape for her, "Sir could you wait here." He said to Angel who tried to follow.

"No it's okay, I want him to come." Buffy said and the officer nodded quickly and led them away from the group of neighbours who were watching.

"So, where did you say you've been?" The officer asked.

"I went away for a couple of days to Spain, I got back yesterday and I stayed at Angel's house." Buffy replied. The officer noted down a few things in his pad.

"We'll need to speak with you again once we determine the cause of the fire but I imagine it's unlikely to be something you left on; otherwise it would have set off earlier. We'll need contact details for you too." Angel gave the officer his address and phone number and told him that they would call around to speak with her later that night once they'd had a chance to check around her house. When they got back to the car, Buffy started crying and Angel pulled her into his arms,

"I don't believe this, could anything else go wrong lately!" she sobbed into his chest

"It's all right, you have insurance right? I know it's not much and you won't get any of the personal items but it will help. In the mean time you're welcome to stay with me for as long as you want. Hey, it's not that bad, I can cook you breakfast every morning." He joked and she stifled a laugh. He pulled back and lifted her chin with his finger, "Don't cry; I'll buy you an ice cream." He smiled to her.

"Cookie dough fudge mint chip?" she said softly wiping her eyes and sniffling.

"Sure, whatever you want." He said and started the car, driving them away from the ruin that was once her home.

"Hey B" Faith said as she walked into Angel's apartment. Angel had said he was going to his room to give them some time.

"Hey Faith, what are you doing here?"

"Angel called me, said you might need a girly friend. Sorry about your house, have the cops called you yet?"

"No." Buffy said solemnly; she just wanted to know what had caused the fire. "They said they would come around before the end of today though so we decided to stay in; plus I didn't really feel like going out."

"Well I have tomorrow off work so we are going shopping to get you some new things. You only have a few things in that suitcase of yours and you'll definitely need some clothes for work." Faith said, taking Buffy's uneaten bag of crisps from her hands and emptying the bag. "And don't even try to refuse, Angel's dropping us off and doing some shopping of his own. We're coming back with him and we're all going out for dinner."

"Okay, I wouldn't mind going to get some new things. I've been using so much makeup to cover up my bruises that I've nearly run out."

"Yeah, and we'll have chance to be away from Angel for a few hours so you can go and visit the doctor at the hospital and get yourself checked over." Faith said staring her straight in the eyes. Buffy opened her mouth to say something but no words would form and she closed it again. Opening it again she attempted to say something but still she couldn't think of what to say. "Chill, I won't blow your cover. I have to say though I was shocked as hell. I would have thought you to be more careful than that. I take it that the kid is Angel's from the night at the bar?" Buffy nodded her reply and when Faith saw the tears falling from her eyes she pulled her from the couch and into her bedroom in case Angel were to come out from his room and see her crying. "Tell me everything." Faith said.

"As soon as we got there we started arguing. I went back to our room to avoid him. The next morning when I got up I felt really sick and I spent the whole day by the toilet. Riley went out sight seeing and when he came back I was still on the bathroom floor. He helped me into bed and I was so exhausted I managed to fall asleep. When I woke the next morning it was the same thing and so Riley took me to the hospital. They did some tests to find out what was wrong with me and put me on a drip because I was dehydrated. When the doctor came back she asked Riley to leave but he said he wouldn't and I didn't want him to kick up a fuss so I said he could stay. Then when she told me I was pregnant and since Riley and I hadn't slept together since our first time...he left the hospital and went back to the hotel and got drunk. When I checked out of the hospital I had to go there to get my passport and he came in the bedroom. He just started shouting at me and then he was hitting me!" she broke down crying again and Faith rocked her gently. "Then I get home and find out that Angel is with someone else and you all bully me into staying with him. Then today I go to my house and someone's set it on fire!"

"Oh Buff! Man, that one bad stream of luck." Faith said, still rocking her friend until she'd calmed down. When Buffy stopped crying, Faith pulled back and looked ather friend. "So, you're in love with Angel?"

"I...I don't know. I mean...he's so great, and he's amazing and kind and handsome, and damn he can even cook!" Buffy said laughing, "But love is big and I don't know him very well...I think...maybe I do." Buffy said slowly coming to the realisation.

"You have to tell him." Faith said getting excited.

"No! No way, he's with Kate and he seems happy; I won't come between that."

"And what about the baby; I mean, I take it you're going to have it?" Buffy nodded. "Then isn't it best that you tell him?"

"I don't want Angel to do something out of a sense of responsibility. He owes me nothing and if we are meant to be then we will be; if not then I don't know what I'll do. How long do you think I could avoid him?"

"Well I'd say not very long cause now you have no home and you're not staying with me." Faith said.

"Oh thanks! Some friend."

"I am being a friend. I'm trying to help sort out your life. I won't tell Angel but you need to. You're what, four or five weeks along now? How long will it be before you start showing?" Faith asked.

"I'm not really sure, the doctor gave me a lot of leaflets but I haven't really taken a look at them yet."

"Well get them out now and we'll go through them." Faith said and waited whilst Buffy routed through her box of things and found the leaflets. She took them back to the bed and they looked through them together; Faith providing Buffy with the support that she needed as they read about how her life was about to change.

After Faith had left that night there was a knock at the door and Angel went to answer it. He was surprised to find Kate standing on his doorstep, but he invited her in. "I thought we weren't seeing each other until Saturday because you had work." He asked as they walked into the living room.

"We weren't but I'm here for work reasons; is Buffy around?" Kate said, she had herd about the house being burnt down and had asked for the case to be transferred to her. She was a little surprised that Buffy was now residing at Angel's apartment and she wasn't at all pleased by the turn of events. Buffy's home was now officially a crime scene and if she wanted Buffy out of Angel's place she had to do her job, and quickly.

"Yeah. She's in her room, I'll go get her." Angel said and walked away, not noticing the way Kate bristled when he said that Buffy was in HER room. She supposed that she should be grateful that Buffy wasn't in Angel's room, she thought to herself whilst she waited. Angel returned shortly after with Buffy, who was wearing some blue pajama shorts and a white vest top,her hair flowing in wet strands down her back.

"Hi Kate." Buffy said, noticing the way the other woman was staring at her in her pajamas, "Sorry I was just getting ready for bed; it's been a long day." She explained, wondering if Kate thought she was moving in on her boyfriend. Angel seemed oblivious to the tension in the room as he left them alone and went into the kitchen, probably to make coffee.

"I'm sure it has. I need to ask you a few questions." Kate said and took a seat on the sofa.

"Did they find out what started the fire?" Buffy asked, just as Angel walked back into the room with a tray with three cups and a coffee pot.

"Yeah, it looks like someone started the fire deliberately. We found traces of broken glass and gasoline in the living room, kitchen and bedroom. It looks like someone threw bombs into your house. When the glass broke as they landed, it exploded and set fire to everything. It's a good thing you weren't in there, you wouldn't have made it out alive." Kate said.

Angel frowned at the way Kate said it as though she wouldn't have been bothered if Buffy had been inside. He observed the two women for a moment and noticed the tension between them. Kate seemed to openly dislike Buffy whilst Buffy was guarded."So you're saying someone did this with the intention of Buffy being inside the house? They wanted to kill her?" Angel asked, he couldn't help his suspicions of who it might have been and he locked eyes with Buffy, both thinking the same thing.

"Is there something you're both not telling me?" Kate asked as she watched them silently communicating.

"Riley Finn." Buffy said and elaborated when Kate frowned. "My ex boyfriend, he's the one who..." She pointed at the fazing marks on her face and Kate nodded, "I got back yesterday from Spain, I had gone away with Riley, we were intending on spending two weeks there but we argued and..." Buffy halted in her words, wondering if she should mention to Kate that she and Angel were together only a few weeks ago. "He found out that I'd been with someone else after we'd spilt up, he went crazy and starting hitting me, he tried to...he was trying to take off my trousers when I hit him over the head with a lamp off the bedside table. I caught the first flight back to L.A. and Faith picked me up from the airport. She suggested that I stay with her but after coming here last night Gunn and Angel thought..."

Kate interrupted her when she got lost in the story,"Who's Angel?"

'Oh Crap' Buffy thought. She should have noticed that Kate was calling Angel Liam, why did he have to have two names, why couldn't he just be normal?!

"I'm Angel, it's my family name." Angel explained noticing the look of hurt on Kate's face when he explained. He would have to speak with her later about everything and straighten things out.

"Anyway, they thought it would be better if we weren't to stay where Riley knew we might be in case he came around. So Faith stayed with Gunn and I stayed here."

"You stayed here all night?" Kate asked briskly.

"Yeah, Angel has a spare room." Every time Buffy said his name Kate felt like screaming at her. She supposed that it could be explained by the fact that Angel had known Buffy a long time. She took a deep breath and noted some things down to try and calm herself before she spoke again. "Can you give me any details on Riley? His address and telephone number for instance?" Buffy gave Kate the details she needed. When Kate left Angel went to see her out. He tried to speak with her but she brushed off his attempt saying that she had to get back to the station.

"I'm so sorry, I really put my foot in things for you didn't I?" Buffy said when Angel came back in.

"Don't worry about it, it wasn't your fault. I'll speak with her tomorrow." Angel said, "Do want to watch something on TV with me?" He asked sitting next to her on the sofa, "We can wallow together?"

"Sure, why not." She said and flicked on the TV with the remote, "But I get to pick the show." She said as she flicked through the channels to find something.They watched some strange film in another language that made no sense. There was nothing on and they had a laugh together watching it and trying to decide what was happening. By the end of the film though Buffy had fallen asleep leaning her head against Angel's shoulder; he wasn't far from the land of sleep himself. Rubbing his eyes he tried to wake himself abit so that he'd have the energy to go to bed. He put his arm around Buffy whilst he got up so that she wouldn't fall. Twisting himself around her, he put his other arm under her legs and lifted her from the couch. She didn't even stir in his arms as he carried her to her room and placed her under the covers. Looking down at her he wondered how much longer he could keep things going with Kate, things were already unfair on her. His feelings for Buffy were too strong...he had to admit it; he'd fallen in love with her, her smile, her strength, and her courage. Everything about her made him want to take her in his arms and never let her go. It wasn't fair to continue things with Kate when he felt his way about Buffy. He thought that this was the way to go about things, trying to move on but it wasn't...he'd gone about it all wrong. Tomorrow he would call Kate and speak with her and see if he could at least end things pleasantly, although he wouldn't be surprised if he got a slap.

TBC...


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Title: The Night That Changed Everything

Author: Neamh1

AN: Thanks for the reviews, please keep them coming, i love to read your comments!

The next morning they had all planned on going out shopping. Angel had decided that whilst Faith and Buffy were shopping he was going to drop by and speak with Kate. Faith arrived at nine and Angel dropped them off at the mall; as soon as his car was out of sight they hailed a cab and went to the hospital. Faith had called and made an appointment for Buffy and they had to be there by ten. Sitting in the hospital waiting room Buffy felt really nervous, she kept fidgeting with her hands and Faith placed her hands over them to still her movements.

"You're driving me crazy B, calm down."

"Sorry, I'm just a little nervous." Buffy said. When the nurse called out her name she left Faith and followed her into an examination room. The nurse told her to take a seat and the doctor would be with her shortly. A few minutes later and a small thin brown haired lady walked in.

"Hi, I'm Fred and you must be Buffy?" The woman said. Buffy was thrown off by her casual demeanor but found her pleasant which eased her nerves.

"I am." she said with a lump in her throat.

"Well Buffy, we've had you're papers sent over from Spain with the details. It looks like everything was okay then but, have you been in an accident?" Fred asked, adjusting her glasses as she looked at the marks on Buffy.

"Umm, not really, it was...it was my boyfriend." She confessed quietly feeling ashamed.

"Oh right, well was there any damage caused to your stomach area?"

"No, but he did kick me in my back." she admitted rubbing the sore spot.

"Okay, well why don't you go behind the curtain and take off your top and we'll check you over for any damage." Buffy did as the doctor asked and waited until Fred came behind the curtain. "Okay, let's take a look at your back first." Fred said and Buffy turned around, she winced when Fred poked her skin softly and Fred asked her where it hurt. The bruise on her back was pretty bad but it was just a bruise and would heal in time. "Lie back on the bed and I'll have a feel of your bellyand we'll do an ultrasound." Lying back Buffy waited as Fred felt her flat belly and then squeezed some cold jelly on and did the ultrasound, "Your lucky you know. I bet you won't start showing for another two months with your figure.The early scan showed just one baby but you'll have to come back on a regular basis so that we can keep an eye on you. Everything seems fine at the moment, see, still one little blob. Have you been taking the tablets prescribed?" Fred asked as she went over to the sink and washed her hands whilst Buffy wiped her belly.

"Yeah, the sickness tablets have helped loads. I was a bit late taking them the other morning but once I had it I had some food and was fine." Buffy said putting her top back on and going back to the desk to take her seat again.

"Good, when they run out, if you still get sick then just call up and leave a message for me and I'll get you another prescription, but usually it only lasts for a month or so. We don't have any of the father's details except his name, is there anything else that you have managed to find out?"

"No, I uhh, haven't gotten around to telling him yet. It just hasn't been the right time and actually my address details are different now. There was an accident at my house, it kind of got burnt down and I'm staying with a friend...the father."

"Mmmm? Awkward situation?" Fred asked looking up from her notes.

"Yeah, he has a girlfriend." Buffy didn't know what was possessing her to tell her doctor these things, probably because she knew that she couldn't tell anyone else and she had the sudden need to vent a little.

"Well, okay, if you can find anything out then let me know next time you come in. If you take your folder to the front desk and they'll make you an appointment for four weeks time. Oh before you go, let me just update your address, you're staying at your...friend's? What's the address?"

"Its 1890 South Cochran Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90019."

Fred looked up quickly at Buffy and then jotted the address down, "Okay, I think that's it for today, don't forget to make your next appointment on your way out and I'll see you in a month. If you have any problems in the mean time make sure you come back to me, any pain or discomfort or anything okay?"

"Yes, thanks doctor."

"Please call me Fred, Doctor sounds so formal; I hate it." She said with a laugh.

Buffy waved as she left the room with her notes feeling a lot better. She took her folder to the front desk and was given another appointment date. Faith was pacing back and forth in the waiting room and she smiled to her friend as she approached.

"Everything okay?" Faith asked, worried that Buffy had been in there for so long.

"Yeah, I have to come back for another appointment in four weeks but as long as I carry on taking the tablets she says I'll be fine. I feel a lot better now actually; come on let's go shopping." Her spirits lifted, she led Faith from the hospital and back outside to catch a cab back to the mall.

Meanwhile at the Police Station...

"Hi, I'm here to see Kate...uh Officer Lockley." Angel said at the front desk.

"Take a seat sir, and i'll see if officer Lockley is available." Angel sat down in one of the chairs and waited until he saw Kate come through the doors.

"Angel, what are you doing here?" Kate asked, surprised that he had come all the way to the station to see her. He didn't look as though he'd come bringing good news though and she knew why he was there. "Listen, I'm really busy, could we maybe do this another time?"

"Please Kate, we need to speak." Angel said quietly not waiting her fellow officers to hear their conversation.

"If you're going to dump me Angel then just get it over with. I don't need the nice 'we can still be friends' speech from you okay. Look I'll save you the bother; I'll see you around. I'll get someone else assigned to Buffy's case, that way it won't be awkward." She tried to walk away from him but he took hold of her arm to halt her retreat.

"Please Kate, I don't want things to be this way."

"They're gonna be a lot worse if you don't let go of my arm." she warned. Angel quickly let go of her and watched as she walked back through the doors into the station. He sighed heavily and turned around leaving the building and going back out to his car. It was pointless trying to speak with her when she was in that kind of mood. Maybe she'd be more approachable in a few days time he thought as he climbed behind the wheel of his car.

From the window upstairs Kate watch as he got into his car and drove away. She knew the reason why he had ended things; it was because of Buffy. She knew something had been going on and with her staying in the house with him something was bound to happen. She couldn't' help feeling cheated and bitter about the whole thing. Angel was the first nice guy she'd met in a long time, she had almost given up on men until she met him and then she had started to hope again...she should have known better.

Angel went back home. He had to meet the girls in a couple of hours and he didn't feel like going out anywhere. He just wanted to sit in, have a coffee and read a book. He'd been thinking in the car how to bring up to Buffy that he and Kate were no longer a couple. He wanted to try things with Buffy and she had said that if things were different then maybe they could have been together. Well now things _were_ different and there was nothing standing in their way. Maybe he should mention it to Faith and Faith would tell Buffy. One thing he'd learnt about Faith so far was that she had a yen to get him and Buffy together and right now he would be very grateful to her if she were to continue her task.

Grabbing a book from his collection he went and sat down on the sofa and set the alarm so that he wouldn't forget about picking up Buffy and Faith. As he began reading he slipped away from reality and sank deep into the characters roles in his book, his escape, his sanctuary.

"Where is Angel, do you think something is wrong?" Buffy asked as they stood at the side of the road with numerous bags of shopping, waiting for Angel to pick them up. Faith pulled out her cell phone and tried calling the house but got no answer, just as they were about to give up Buffy spotted his car coming along the street. He pulled up next to them and jumped out to help with their bags.

"Sorry I'm late, but an officer called about your house."

"What did they say?" Buffy asked anxiously. She'd spoken with her insurance and they were going to compensate her for the house. She could choose to purchase another property or rebuild on the same grounds.

"That the investigation concluded a deliberate attempt to burn down your house but since everything inside was so badly burnt they hadn't managed to find any incriminating evidence to pin on anyone. They'll keep the case open in case anything comes up but they've gone over the grounds and found nothing so they're releasing it as a crime scene, you can get things moving now if you want to." He said with asmile as they all climbed in the car.

"That's good news. I haven't decided yet what I want to do though. I don't know whether or not to look for a new place, then again building my own place would have advantages, it would just take a lot longer." She mused.

"Well you know you're welcome to stay with me as long as you like, even if you decide to go ahead and have the place rebuilt." Angel offered, pulling the car away from the curb and heading to Faith's so they could drop her off.

"How do you two fancy going out tonight? Let's go to a club and have some fun." Faith said.

"Sure why not." Angel agreed, he could do with some time out to unwind.

"I don't know..." Buffy said, not really wanting to have to sit through another night where Kate stared at Angel none stop and Angel was all sweet and nice to her and Buffy had to sit and wish that it was her.

"Oh come on, who am I gonna talk to after Faith and Gunn have too much to drink and desert me?" Angel half joked, knowing that his friends would eventually decide to go off alone.

"Hey, I'm sitting right here." Faith interrupted.

"You could always ask Kate to go along with you. I'm sure she'd like a night out." Buffy suggested, not knowing why she had suggested it but wishing that she had been able to keep back the jealousy from her voice. Faith watched in amusement from the back seat as Buffy and Angel practically danced around each other . She couldn't wait to see what happened when Angel found out that Buffy was pregnant with his child. Of course she couldn't tell him and she had sworn to her friend that she would keep the news from Gunn because she'd admitted that it was likely something that Gunn wouldn't be able to keep to himself.

"Actually Kate and I kind off broke up." Angel said, thanking God, that someone had brought up the topic so that he had been able to tell Buffy without being obvious about it.

"Oh really...I mean, why, what's wrong? I thought you liked her, I mean she seemed pretty nice." Buffy said trying to sound sincere.

"Yeah..." Angel said with a smirk, he'd known that Buffy didn't like Kate but he wasn't going to call her on it. "Things just didn't feel right, I went to speak with her today and see if we could salvage a friendship out of it but she kind of went off the rails with me and told me to get lost."

"News flash Angel, girls don't like to be kept out of the loop over things like your nickname and the lives of your friends. They don't like it when their boyfriends have other girls over staying at their house and they don't like it when their boyfriend then comes to dump them and says the famous words 'Can we still be friends?'" Faith said in amusement.

Angel glared at her through the rearview mirror. "Thanks for that insight Faith, I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

"You're welcome." They arranged to meet at a club called Caritas, a new club recently opened in downtown L.A. They were all getting a taxi so that everyone could have a drink. Buffy hadn't decided how she was going to get around the whole 'no drinking' thing but she'd find a way, she didn't want to risk causing any harm to their child. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, might as well make the most of her figure whilst she still had one, she thought. She'd put on the new dress that she had brought earlier with Faith; it was a short red dress, silk with thin spaghetti straps, kind of like the one she'd seen in the film 'She's All That'. She twisted her hair into long curls and left them hanging down her back and applied some light makeup. All in all she looked really good, even if she did think so herself.

She walked out into the living room and stopped dead in her tracks. Angel was standing by the door waiting for her and he looked lickable, he was wearing a pair of black leather trousers and a satin maroon shirt with a few of the top buttons opened to reveal part of his perfect chest.

Angel wasn't faring much better after seeing Buffy; every time he looked at her she seemed more beautiful. Tonight is the night, he thought as he smiled to her."You look amazing."

Buffy blushed and smiled, "You look really great too." She replied, trying not to drool.

"Are you ready?" Buffy nodded and Angel held open the door for her, they went outside and he locked up before taking her arm and leading her down to the taxi. Buffy's arm was tingling where he was holding it and she wished that they were going out on a date, maybe Angel still liked her and they could make a go of things. The only complication to that problem was that she was pregnant with his child, how was she going to tell him and what would that do to their relationship? Her good mood was tinted with a touch of sadness as she wondered if the news would change any feelings he had towards her. She would be heartbroken if he said he wasn't ready for that kind of commitment and wanted her to get rid of the baby; she knew she could never do that. This child was a part of her, she couldn't wait to see what their baby would look like when it was born. She imagined it have her blonde hair and Angel's chocolate eyes.

"Everything okay?" Angel asked, he'd sensed that she'd been somewhere else when he'd been talking to her and asked her a question. She hadn't even heard a word he'd said.

"Huh? Oh yeah sorry." She smiled and slipped into the taxi, which was now in front of them. Angel followed her inside and told the driver where they were going.

"Is there something on your mind?" He asked .

"There is but it can wait." She said, not wanting to spoil the night so soon with talk about 'them'. She would speak with Angel later and see if he still had feelings for her, then if he did and he wanted to make a go of things she would tell him about the baby. He deserved to know before he made any decisions. She just prayed that he would say what she wanted him to and that he had the same feelings for her that she did for him.

Two hours later...

The night had been going great, Buffy had said that she couldn't stomach alcohol after what happened the last time they went out and after a small amount of prodding her friends gave up and agreed to buy her non-alcoholic drinks for the rest of the night. Faith and Gunn had been up and down from the dance floor all night and even Buffy had managed to drag Angel up for the odd slow dance since he conveniently couldn't remember the steps from their brief salsa lesson at the festival.

"So...you know you said there was something you wanted to tell me, care to share now?" Angel asked as they slow danced together to Sheryl Crows 'I Shall Believe'. He was hoping that she was going to ask him if he still wanted a relationship with her but if she didn't then he would bring it up afterwards.

"Okay, just give me a second to figure out how to say this to you." She said and they carried on dancing for a few minutes whilst she composed her thoughts. 'Here goes Buffy. Don't screw it up' she said to herself before looking back into his eyes. "I know that things really haven't gone smoothly with us, what with everything that's happened and the people that have come in the way. I don't know if you still - "

"Angel?" Buffy and Angel turned to their right as they were interrupted by a very drunk, brown haired girl who was stumbling and trying to hold onto Angel for support. Angel's arms dropped from Buffy and she watched in slow motion as she tried to understand what was going on. "Angel Hi! And Buffy!"

"Fred! God how much have you had to drink?" Angel said trying to support his sister before she fell to the floor. "Come on, let's go find some where to sit you down." He led Fred over to their table and sat her down in one of the seats then sat next to her. Buffy took one of the spare chairs and sat down, her whole frame shaking as she realised that Angel's sister was her doctor. "Fred, you know that you can't drink! I can't believe you got yourself into this state. Who are you with?" Angel asked, with concern for his sister.

"My friends are around here somewhere. I had to celebrate, it's not everyday that I get to be an aunt! And I'm so glad you two crazy kids worked it out, cause you know Uncle Giles and Aunt Jenny wouldn't be too happy if they thought this baby was going to be raised alone." She rambled on. Buffy felt sicker by the word, she watched Angel's face as confusion settled over his features and she willed Fred to shut up.

"What are you talking about Fred?" Angel asked in confusion, things just weren't registering in his mind, this must be some drunken illusion of Fred's.

"Buffy and you! I'm so pleased, give me a hug big brother." She said and threw her arms around Angel. Angel sat stunned, when his brain started to function again he looked at Buffy and saw tears in her eyes and the realisation that what Fred had said was the truth, hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Buffy?" He couldn't think of what else to say, his brain was working but his mouth just kept coming out blank. The look of hurt on his face that she had kept it from him was her undoing and the tears fell freely from her eyes. He looked hurt and betrayed and she knew that he had every right to be; it would serve her right if he never wanted to see her again.

"I'm so sorry Angel." She said and got up from her chair running away from the table and towards the exit. Angel tried to disentangle himself from his sister to go after Buffy but Fred passed out and Angel had to grab her quickly before she hit the floor. Luckily Gunn and Faith chose that moment to come back to the table.

"What's going on?" Gunn asked recognising Angel's sister.

"Fred's had a little too much to drink, do you think you could get her back to my place for me. Buffy just ran off upset and I need to go after her."

"Yeah sure but I still don't get it." Gunn said taking the unconscious girl from Angel's arms.

"I'll explain later, he's my house keys, call me on my cell if Buffy shows up there." And with that he was gone.

"You have any idea what that was all about?" Gunn asked Faith.

Faith looked up from Fred's face in shock, "I think I might."

TBC...


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Title: The Night That Changed Everything

Author: Neamh1

AN:

Angel searched all around the side streets for Buffy but couldn't find any sign of her. He asked around and the bouncer said that he had seen her leave alone and that she had run off to the left but after that he hadn't seen where she'd gone. He tried calling his place and speaking with Gunn but she hadn't gone back there and he called at Faith's apartment and even at Buffy's run down house just in case but there was no sign of her.  
Finally by four in the morning he was getting beyond worried and so he went down to the local police station and rang the bell.

"What do you want?" Kate asked when she walked through the doors and saw Angel standing in the waiting room dripping wet and dishelved.

"I need your help."

Angel and Kate went into her office and he explained everything that had happened. Kate sat quietly through it all trying to take it in; it was one huge mess all right and she actually pitied Angel for everything that he was going through.

"Well we can't put out an APB until she's been missing for forty-eight hours. She may have just gone  
somewhere to think things through and she might turn up in a few hours, if she does call me straight away. In the mean time I'll go and speak with the club bouncers and see if anyone remembers anything else, it's possible she may have gone back there looking for you after you left."

"It's just, after what happened with Riley and her house we've all been on edge worrying that he could be there the next time we turn the corner, what if he's taken her some where?" Angel said worried. Riley was a likely suspect but with so many weirdo's on the streets anyone could have taken her. He was also worried about their child. God it sounded so strange to think about it, it was the last thing he'd been expecting or even thinking about in his life.

"I'll check up on him and question him, see if he's heard from her but I doubt she would have gone to him after he hit her. Go home Liam, I'll call if I hear anything." Kate said and showed him out of her office. She may not have broken up with him on the best of terms but in her heart she knew that he was a good guy and he cared a lot about Buffy. So, regardless of her feelings for the other women she would do whatever was in her means to track down the girl and return her to him. It was the least she could do for him since he made her begin to feel hope again.

Angel returned back to his apartment defeated and in a state of worry and found Gunn and Faith waiting for him.

"Faith went by her house and has been checking her messages but we've heard nothing, how did it go for you?" Gunn asked as Angel took a seat on the sofa and rested his head in his hands.

"Not good, I couldn't find any trace of her. I went to Kate to report Buffy missing and she said she couldn't put out an APB until she's been missing for over 48 hours. She's gonna ask around though and see if anyone from the club remembers seeing her leave." Angel sighed and leaned back in the chair trying to think where else she might have gone.

"So why did she leave? What happened, did you two have an argument or something?" Faith asked, not wanting to say anything in case her assumptions were wrong and Angel didn't know that Buffy was pregnant.

Angel studied her trying to see if she already knew, it was something that he should discuss with Buffy  
first before they started telling people but with her missing..."Buffy's pregnant." He blurted out waiting  
for a reaction from Faith, to her credit she didn't give one, "You already knew?"

"Yeah, I found out when she moved in with you. When I was packing her stuff at my place I dropped her box trying to carry too much stuff and her things fell out. She had a scan picture with her name on it and some pregnancy advice leaflets so I confronted her about it later that day and she told me everything. We went to the hospital the next day and she had her first appointment over here." Faith told them both, Gunn still hadn't said anything as he tried to put together all the pieces.

"Over here?" Angel asked, not understanding.

"Her first check was when she was away with Riley. She got sick because of the pregnancy and when Riley took her to the hospital the doctor did some tests and told them that Buffy was pregnant. Riley walked out on her and went back tot he hotel to get drunk. Buffy had to go back to the hotel to get her passport and everything and that's when he attacked her. The doctor in Spain told her that she needed to make an appointment once she got back home to see a doctor to have a check up and the doctor she saw was your sister. I'm guessing in Fred's drunken state last night she slipped up with the news?" Faith asked.

"Kind of, she thought that we were together and assumed that Buffy had told me the news. It wasn't her fault but you can see why she should never drink." He said sarcastically, annoyed with his sister for drinking and getting in such a state. "Did she get home alright?"

"Yeah, we dropped her off and Faith stayed with her for a while whilst I went and checked your place, she got a cab here later." Gunn replied now having the full story of events and understanding everything that had happened.

"So what do we do now?" Faith asked, worrying about her friend.

"Nothing, we wait for Kate to call with any news and just hope that Buffy comes home. It might help if you where at your place, she's more likely to come to you than me right now." Angel said, "She probably thinks I'm mad at her or something." He was hurt more than anything that she hadn't told him; that she hadn't thought she could come to him with something like this. He was also beyond pissed that Riley had attacked Buffy knowing that she was pregnant! It was bad enough attacking a woman in any circumstance but attacking a pregnant woman was beyond redemption. If he ever saw Riley again he'd beat him past the point of no return.

"Are you?" Faith asked, bringing him from his thoughts.

"Honestly?" She nodded, "I'm more hurt than anything, why would she think that she couldn't come to me?" Faith and Buffy had obviously talked about it, maybe Faith could shed some light.

"This is really something you should talk with her about. She just wanted some time to come to terms with things plus the fact that you were with Kate didn't make things easier. She thought that if she told you it would drive a wedge between you and Kate; she thought you were happy." Angel shook his head thinking how stupid they had both been. "She loves you, you know?" Faith said.

"I love her." He admitted and it felt good to say it out loud. "But is it too late?" He wondered, would Buffy even come back or just disappear. It's not like she couldn't just leave and make a new start, things like passports could be easily replaced. Had she decided to go and leave them all and make a fresh start bringing up their child elsewhere? No, he had to believe that she wouldn't do that, she may have run away upset but she would come back. They had been getting close, dancing and talking and he'd felt that she wanted him and much as he wanted her.

"You just need to talk things through, then I'm sure everything will be okay." Faith said. "Listen, I'll go back to my place and hang out there for a while, see if she contacts me. If she does I'll call you straight away, okay? Call me if you guys hear anything." She said, she gave Gunn a kiss and squeezed Angel's shoulder on her way out.

"How you holdin' up?" Gunn asked once Faith had left.

"Not good, I'm about ready to fall apart. I swear if we don't find her by the end of today I'm going to go crazy." Angel said.

"Why don't you try and get some rest. I'll keep watch for a few hours, you've had no sleep."

"I couldn't sleep anyway." Angel refused.

"Yeah but at least if you go and lie down you'll have had some rest, even if you can't sleep it's better  
than nothing." Gunn convinced him and Angel finally agreed to go to his room for an hour on the condition that Gunn woke him if there was any news.

Three hours later there was a knock on the door and Gunn got up to answer it. He'd checked on Angel half an hour ago to find him getting some much needed sleep. Opening the door he found Kate standing in the hallway. He invited her in and within five minutes Angel was up and sitting opposite them on the couch.

"I've got some news, now we're not sure if it's good or bad yet so just hear me out." She said looking at them both. "I checked up on Riley and found that he has returned from Spain. He got back the morning  
before Buffy's house was brunt down, we're considering him a likely suspect." She watched as Angel's fists clenched together, his knuckles turning white and his face was set in stone. She wondered if he was going to loose control but he sat perfectly still so she continued. "I've been around to check in on his home today and he wasn't there. I've spoken with the neighbours and they saw him leave early this morning with a holdall, he hasn't turned into wok or called in to say he won't be there. We've got to consider at this point that Riley and Buffy are together, whether she's with him voluntarily we can't make any assumptions."

"You think she went to him! She wouldn't, after what he did to her!" Angel boomed standing up from the chair.

Kate quickly stood ready to defend herself, an automatic reaction, "Calm down Angel or we'll have to  
go to the station to discuss this." she said softly. His features softened slightly and his erratic breathing calmed before he took his seat again and apologised for flipping out on her. "I've put out the word for officers to keep a look out for either of them and to apprehend Riley if they see him. If they come  
across Buffy they have instructions to bring her in too and question her on her disappearance. Either way we'll let you know if we come across them."

"So you expect me to just sit around and wait again?" Angel said.

"I know it's hard but yes, there's nothing you can do and what if she comes back here or calls and your not here? You and Faith are the two people she will contact if she's in trouble. If you go out, forward your house phone to your mobile. I'm assuming she already has her own house key with living here so that wouldn't be a problem. Just leave a note somewhere she would see it. I know you can't put your life on hold so this is how we can play it best. I'll keep you informed okay?" She said.

Angel nodded in defeat and Gunn saw Kate to the door. When he came back, his friend was deathly still on the sofa. "Yo Angel man, you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna go do some work in my office, you can go home if you want." Angel said as he got up, maybe some work would take his mind off things for a while.

"You sure, cause I can stay if you want me to?" Gunn said, "We can play some PlayStation or whatever."

"God no. Go; see Faith. I'll be fine, I just want to bury myself in some work for a couple of hours and try and take my mind off things." Angel waved off his friend wanting some piece and quiet; not a constant reminder that she was gone and friends looking at him with concern and pity. He went and locked himself away in his office for a few hours and managed to get a good deal of work done until his uncle Rupert called on his mobile and asked how things were going.

Three days later and Angel was a wreck. He'd just spoken with Kate who had told him that they managed to track down Riley but Buffy wasn't with him. Kate now had no choice but to put Buffy on the list of missing people. She hadn't used any credit cards or gone in any banks to withdraw money from her accounts. It was like she'd disappeared off the face of the Earth, even Kate was baffled. She'd known a lot of people who'd gone missing over the years that she'd been with the police force but it this was strange. According to Angel they hadn't had a huge argument, his sister had slipped up that Buffy was pregnant with Angel's child and Buffy had run off upset over what Angel might say.  
Kate couldn't say that she wasn't still a little affected by the Buffy/Angel relationship but she was putting her feelings aside to try and help Angel.  
He'd been a complete mess since Buffy had disappeared and after he'd seen her from his apartment a few minutes ago she had called Charles Gunn and asked him to come straight around and see if Angel was okay. She got the impression he could really use a friend right now and she wasn't really qualified what with their history.  
She'd promised Angel that she was going to keep looking for Buffy but that she thought he should try  
and get some normalcy back into his life. She hated to think it but Buffy may well have run away and she might not be coming back. Angel couldn't sit around wasting his life waiting for her.  
Kate walked away from his apartment building and got into her car heading back for the station. She just hoped that he managed to get over this in time. She knew it would be hard, what with him having a child out there somewhere and not knowing if it was alright or why that child had been taken away from him. She shook her head, her heart aching for what had been done to him.

Faith and Gunn went straight over to Angel's apartment after Kate's phone call. She'd explained that they had found Riley and that he had left town, he was currently looking for somewhere to live and a new job but she couldn't tell them where he was staying because she wasn't allowed. She also told them that Angel was in bad shape when she'd left him and that they should go over and see him.  
When they got there they rushed inside and both stopped in mid step when their eyes fell upon his form  
on the sofa, his face red, his eyes puffy and tears running down his cheek.

"She's gone, she left me." He said. Faith ran to him and pulled him into her arms, Gunn went into the kitchen and made them all drinks of coffee. When he came back Angel had calmed slightly and he and Faith were talking.

"I don't believe it Angel; I don't believe that B would just up and leave. She loved you and her whole  
life was here. Despite what had happened she wouldn't have just left town. She didn't even have much money on her. I'd been to the bank for her and drawn out 300 that day. That's all the cash she had on her. And she only had that much because she wanted to go shopping the next day. I bet she didn't even take the whole three hundred with her." Angel's started thinking about what Faith was saying and she was right, it didn't make sense. Buffy wasn't the sort of person to run away from her problems and he had to believe that she was a better person than that. He stood up from the couch and stormed into his office, Faith and Gunn looked at each other before following him to see what he was going to do.  
He started shuffling through papers in his desk drawer until he found what he was looking for. He picked up the phone and dialled the number on the card.

"Hello, is this Spike's Detective Agency? Yes, I need you to find someone." Angel said into the receiver.

TBC….


	11. Chapter 11

Title: The Night That Changed Everything

Author: Neamh1

Disclaimer: Not mine

AN: Just to say thank you to everyone who keps checking back to read the updates and giving me feedback, it's great to know what everyone thinks and i love reading all your comments so please keep sending them! Hope you enjoy this next chapter, Neamh.

...

Chapter 11

Two weeks later and life was as normal as it could be for Angel, Faith and Gunn. Angel had taken all Buffy's details to the detective agency and met with someone named William who was going to be handling his case. The hardest thing had been going through Buffy's things in her room but he had gotten through it with Faith's help and they had sorted through the things that the agency would need to start their search. Angel had heard a couple of times from Kate but she had no news on Buffy and was just checking to see how he was. He had the impression that she was trying to be a friend and build a relationship between them again but he didn't have time to think about that. All his focuses right now was on his work or finding Buffy.

He spoke daily with the agency but as the weeks rolled by and four months passed that contact grew less and less. He now had updates on the case twice a week. William's assistant Willow was really nice and helpful. She had told Angel that William was actually getting really annoyed that he hadn't been able to find her yet and was focusing all of his energy into tracking her down. It made him feel better speaking with the small red head but still there had been no news of Buffy.  
She would be about five months pregnant by now and showing. He tried to picture her in his mind, her belly round with his child but every time he did it, it just hurt more and so he tried blocking everything out but his work. He stayed cool and calm. He saw less and less of Faith and Gunn although they came around every week to his apartment to see him, but he usually locked the door from the inside and ignored them.  
The few times they'd caught him out and gotten into he apartment he had managed to get rid of them. He just didn't need them talking to him about Buffy and dredging up those feelings. He was barely coping as it was, he didn't need constant reminders of his feelings, cold and distant was the best way to be to keep him from going insane.

Unfortunately this attitude made Angel hard and nasty and in time even Gunn and Faith dreaded the thought of going around to see him. He snapped at them and spoke bluntly saying that he didn't need them and that he was fine without their constant worrying. They understood what he was doing and they tried to help but he just kept pushing everyone away. Without Angel's knowledge they started keeping in touch with the agency to find out if there was any news since Angel wouldn't tell them anything.  
The detective had been out scouting a few times when he'd had reports of young pregnant blonde women arriving in different areas but they never panned out.

Angel had just gotten back form the agency's office and found his sister waiting for him at his front door.  
"Fred, what's up?" He asked as he unlocked the door and they went inside.

"I came by to see how you are. You know Gunn and Faith said they haven't seen you in a few weeks." She said, placing her bag on his coffee table and sitting across from him on the sofa.

"Yeah, I've been busy." Angel said, not wanting to get into what he knew was going to become an argument.

"I don't know if you know, or even if you really want to, I don't know if I would but...It's Buffy's due  
date today." He looked up sharply at her as she delivered the news. "Of course she might not have the  
baby today." Fred started to say.

"Can you please leave?" Angel said with no emotion at all; he was numb, void, an empty shell.

"Angel, I think I should stay. I could make us something to eat."

"Fred, please just leave." He said again.

"I call by later." She said nodding and getting up from her seat. He probably needed some time to himself to think things through, she thought as she closed the front door behind her. Walking along the hall she climbed into the elevator as she heard her brother shout in pain at the top of his voice and the loud bangs of him trashing his apartment. Angel threw his furniture, ornaments, anything he could find around the apartment. Then when there was no more destruction to cause to the furniture he started  
pounding his fist against the wall until it bleed. A wave of pain washed through his body and he collapsed against the wall breathing hard.  
He didn't have time to calm down, his cell rang in his pocket and when he saw who was calling he answered straight away.

"Liam, it's Willow. We've found her."

Angel's heart was pounding as he approached the office of the agency. He'd already been delayed along the way by a police officer who had pulled him over for speeding, now he had a fine and points on his license. Luckily it hadn't taken long for the officer to issue his warning and the ticket and Angel had been back on his way within ten minutes of being pulled over.  
He took a deep breath before pushing open the front door and stepping inside the office. Willow sat behind her desk as usual waiting for him; she looked up as she heard him enter and smiled.

"William is in his office, you can go straight in… and good luck." She said with a friendly smile as Angel nodded and walked past her towards William's office. He knocked on the door and then entered finding the man in question sitting in his chair with his feet up resting on the polished wood on his desk.

"Liam, why don't you take a seat? I take it Willow's already let slip the good news?" Spike asked as he  
watched the obsessed man sit down on the other side of his desk. He'd never known anyone so intent on finding someone before. But then again, Spike had never had so much trouble finding someone before either and it was only by pure luck that she had been found in the first place but he wasn't going to admit that.

"Yes, she said you've found Buffy. Where is she?" Angel asked anxious to know where she was and if she was with someone.  
Spike passed Angel a file across the desk containing pictures of Buffy...and Riley. Angel heart clenched when he looked at the pictures and he had the sudden urge to smash something up again.

"The guy in the picture with her is Finn isn't it?" Angel nodded, in reply, "Well they were together every day that I was there, didn't once see Buffy alone and I thought it was better not to approach her whilst she was with Finn just in case there is something going on. I followed them back to the place where they are staying, small house on the outskirts of town, very secluded from the rest of the town. I waited for Finn to leave and when he had gone I approached the house.  
There are security cameras around the perimeter, along the decking at the front of the house and at the  
back of the house there are bars on the windows but I couldn't get close enough because of the cameras. It seemed strange to have so many bloody cameras and bars on all the windows. All the blinds inside were closed as well so I couldn't see if there was any movement inside but she was definitely in there. I  
think the best thing to do is go back and keep watching them until we can get her alone outside of  
the house to speak with her. I don't think it's safe going to the house with all this surveillance equipment around as Finn may have a link up to his office in town and be watching, it may put Buffy at risk."

"But surely we could get her out before he had chance to get back to the house and get her out of town again." Angel said now starting to worry now that it looked like Riley had actually kidnapped Buffy. But if she had why was she walking around holding hands with him in the pictures?

"We could, as long as he didn't have any sort of failsafe plan. You said this guy burnt down her house. What if he has a bomb or something inside ready to set off in case anyone tries to rescue her? Maybe that's the reason why she's not escaping from the house during the day when he's out. Plus she's hardly in any position right now to be running away from Finn, she so pregnant she looks like she's going to drop at any time!" Spike said.

"She's due today." Angel said quietly.

"Then lets get going, any signs when we get there that she's in danger then we'll bring in the police, is  
there anything you need to collect from your place before we leave?"  
"No, I have my wallet. I'll buy anything I need there, let's just go." Angel said already out the office door. "Thanks for your help Willow." He said passing the redhead on the way out.

"See you when you get back, and good luck!" She called to them both as they left the office. She'd seen the pictures Spike had brought back and knew what Liam's first thoughts would be but everything would be made clear for him soon. She just hoped that everything turned out all right.

The car journey had been hell. Angel couldn't keep still and Spike was getting annoyed with his constant fidgeting and anxiousness to arrive. Angel found out the detective wasn't a very patient person and swore a lot.  
Angel was even more surprised to find out from Spike where they were headed. It seemed that Riley hadn't known where they'd gone for the carnival because he'd taken Buffy to Sunnydale, or perhaps he did know and it was where Buffy had chosen to go because she'd had such a great time there, the irrational part of his mind thought bitterly.  
They checked themselves into the hotel where he'd previously been unable to stay at the time of the carnival and went to their rooms briefly before going out. Spike had suggested that Angel change his clothes and wear a hat to disguise himself in case they accidentally came across Buffy and Riley in the open.  
They quickly made a stop at the mall and Angel brought some black slacks and a white long sleeved t-shirt. The whole time he was changing in the gents, he felt like shouting at the top of his voice. He wanted to just run in that house, pick up Buffy and carry her out of there and away from that creep. He couldn't wait to see her again, he just wanted to tell her how much he loved her and that from now on everything was going to be alright and that he would never again let her get away from him or let anyone hurt her.  
Spike waited patiently whilst Angel changed. He came out from the gents in the causal clothing with a cap on his head and sunglasses. It wasn't perfect but it would at least do the job as long as they didn't draw attention to themselves.  
They set out for the house and hid in the bushes on the outskirts of the garden and waited for some movement. It was an hour before they saw anything. Riley must have finished work for the day because he was returning to the house just after five thirty in a suit carrying a bag of what looked like take out food. Riley unlocked the door and went inside.

"Now what do we do?" Angel asked.

"Nothing, we watch and wait. We can't do anything else whilst he's in there with her, its too dangerous. We'll wait until the lights go out and then we'll go back and get some sleep and come back in the morning."

"I'll stay here." Angel said not wiling to move away in case he left the house.

"Right, so you're going to stay here all night and risk someone seeing you and reporting you to the police."

"Who's going to see me? We're on the outskirts of town!" Angel said, his voice rising with anxiety.

"Right, so you're going to shout and let them know you're here then? Look Liam, you employed me to help you get her back. Now trust me and let me do my job or you're going to blow this and she'll be gone again, and this time I might not be able to find her." Spike said, he knew that it was going to be hard convincing Liam to follow his rules. It seemed like all sense flew out the window when the person you loved was in danger, understandable, Spike was just glad that he wasn't in the situation.

"Fine." Angel said, realising that he might have just alerted Riley to their presence. Just then the front door of the house opened and Angel's whole body went tense worrying that Riley was coming to check on him. They didn't move a muscle; Angel even held his breath as they waited. They watched Riley look around outside and then go back inside but he left the door open.  
Their anticipation rising, they watched as Riley walked back outside holding Buffy's hand.  
They watched as the pair walked out through the woods behind the house. Angel followed Spike quietly and they stopped when the reached the outskirts of a clearing leading to a small grassy area on the edge of a cliff where Buffy stood with him, his arm around her shoulders.  
Angel's anger flared as he watched them sit down and share the food and conversation with each other. From what little he could hear it sounded like a civilised conversation; it seemed as though Buffy was happy to be there but appearances could be deceiving. He wouldn't make any conclusions until he had spoken with her. She looked amazing; it wasn't that she was wearing anything stunning, he was just glad that she was wrapped up warm in a long coat as it was freezing outside. He couldn't remember when it had last been so cold in November.  
They seemed to be just watching the water below the cliff, moon and stars; allowing Buffy some fresh air, he thought. They didn't stay out long, soon they were heading back through the woods towards the house.

"Let's make our move now." Angel suggested, not wanting to wait another minute, he didn't like the thoughts that were running through his head at the thought of what Riley might be doing with her when he got her back inside that house.

"We won't be able to get close enough without making noise and alerting them. We'll have to wait until they go out somewhere in town." Spike said. Truthfully the thought had run through his head but there was no way that they would get close enough and keep the element of surprise. If Riley heard them coming he may use Buffy as protection for himself and she could get hurt.  
Angel didn't argue, he knew that Spike was right. They followed them back to the house and waited outside until the lights all went out at roughly eleven. Then after a lot of tugging on Spike's behalf, they headed back to the hotel with the intention of returning early in the morning.  
Angel tossed and turned in his bed that night, knowing where she was and trying to stay away was the hardest thing he had ever done. He would never be away from her again after this. He'd move her straight into his house and that's where she'd stay forever. Or maybe they could look for a place together, somewhere away from the city so that their child could learn to ride his bike along the street and take their dog for a walk in the nearby fields and woods. A perfect image entered his mind of him and Buffy walking along holding hands and smiling as their son chased the dog in front, throwing sticks for him to fetch.  
A knock sounded at his bedroom door and he got up, cautiously pulling it open until he saw that it was only Spike. "What is it?"

"Nothing, I was just making sure you were here. Make sure you're ready in the morning for six, he usually leaves the house at seven." Spike said and then he was gone, leaving Angel to go back to his perfect world. Not long, he told himself as he closed his eyes on the bed trying to conjure the image again...soon.

The next morning Spike and Angel arrived at the house at a little after six thirty. Unlike usual, there  
seemed to be no movement in the house and Spike couldn't understand what was happening. Riley went out every single day at the same time. He began to worry that they had been seen yesterday and Riley had skipped town with Buffy through the night.  
They waited for 2 hours until finally they saw lights come on in the front room. Another hour later and Riley emerged from the house, Buffy following him.

"I thought you said he works through the week?" Angel asked harshly, worried about the change in routine.

"He does, he must have taken the day off to take her somewhere." they watched as Buffy and Riley got into his car and then they ran through the woods and jumped in Spike's car. Angel had to get in the back and lie down so that he wasn't spotted whilst Spike drove and followed Riley at a slow pace.

"Where are they headed?" Angel asked from his position in the back seat.

"It looks like they are going toward the mall, maybe they are just going shopping." Spike said hopefully.

"Then we can get her away from him?" A burst of excitement went thorough Angel at the thought of having her back with him so soon.

"Maybe, if the opportunity presents. We have to be careful, we don't want to endanger anyone else but  
he's less likely to make a scene and pull a gun out on us if we're in public." Spike said. He never trusted anyone and had his own insurance strapped to his waist.

Angel felt the car halt as Spike pulled it into a parking space in front of the mall. "Don't move yet." Spike said as he watched Riley help Buffy out of the car and they walked across the parking lot to the mall. "Okay, let's go."  
They followed slowly; Buffy and Riley went first to get some breakfast from the food court. It was so busy that they couldn't do anything because of all the tightly packed people so they had to wait whilst they ate and then follow them again. Spike could see that Angel was getting anxious, he kept walking faster and getting closer to them and Spike had to keep pulling him back a little. He didn't think that Angel was going to hold out much longer when the perfect opportunity presented itself. They entered a men's shop and whilst  
Riley was paying for something Buffy wandered from his side over to the women's section. They moved like lightening, grabbing her arms and spinning her from the clothes and toward the door.

"Hey what are you doing?"

"Getting you out of here and back home where you'll be safe." Angel explained quickly, glancing back to see if Riley had noticed Buffy was missing.

"Let go of me! Riley!" she shouted.

The unexpected action paused Spike and Angel in their movements and they both stared at her as though she'd gone mad. Angel glanced back and saw Riley's eyes fixed on them.

"Stop them security; they're kidnapping my fiancé!" Riley shouted as he ran across the store pushing people out of his way, his wallet forgotten back on the cashier's desk.  
Spike and Angel pulled harder on Buffy trying to get her to move out of the store but she fought them and for a heavily pregnant woman she had a lot of strength.

Riley caught up with them and pulled Angel back. The two began fighting as Spike held on to Buffy and tried to speak with her, "Buffy we're here to rescue you. Liam's been looking for you for months, what are you doing, are you here with Riley willingly?" Spike asked, trying to get to the bottom of things.

"What are you talking about, I don't even now who he is?" She said, still pulling at Spike's hands around her wrist.

"What?!" He was completely baffled, what the hell was going on?

Before he could ask any more questions he was grabbed from behind by a security guard and another three came and split Riley and Angel apart, both bloodied and almost snarling at each other.

"Alright you lot, come with us, the police will be here for you soon." One of the guards said, as they were all, minus Buffy, dragged away; she followed with an insistent hand to her back by another guard.

The guards led them to the security room where they all waited in silence for the police to arrive, which didn't take long. They were taken in two cars to the police station after the guards had described what had happened in the store.  
Waiting in the cells that they had all been placed into, Angel was furious! He was mad that things had gone so wrong, mad that Buffy hadn't seemed as though she wanted to leave Riley, mad that he'd been arrested and mad that the police had put Buffy, a pregnant women in a cell!  
He tried to calm himself down, there was no way he was going to get out of there if the police came back and found him all worked up and pounding the crap out of the walls.  
It was a long wait until someone finally came to him and took him into an interrogation room. He was told to take a seat and then the officer stated the date and asked him to confirm his personal details.

"Mr. O'Connor, can you tell me what happened back in the men's clothing shop at the mall?" The officer asked, looking for any signs that he might be lying.

"I went there to try and get my...friend back. She's been missing for months, left without her clothes or  
anything after we had, sort of a fight in a nightclub. She hadn't even contacted her best friend so I hired a detective agency to track her down. It took a while but we did and we arrived yesterday and followed them today to the mall. That's where we tried to get Buffy out of there but...something went wrong, and then the next thing I know Riley is there and he's fighting with me and then we were arrested by guards." Angel said disappointingly. He'd been waiting too long; he'd given up hope that he was going to get out of the station that day.

"That's about the same thing your PI told us, plus he showed us ID, we just needed to confirm your stories. We're going to let you off with a warning about the fighting given the circumstances but there is something you should know. Miss Summers says she has no recollection of you, she doesn't even remember Mr. Finn. She has a case of severe amnesia, we've sent her to the hospital and they are looking her over now. You're free to go along. I've informed the hospital that you and Mr. Turner will be collecting her and returning her home. Detective Lockley from L.A. confirmed your story so we thing it's safe for you to return her there for the time being provided you see that she receives the appropriate care. Mr. Finn will remain here, Detective Lockley will be arriving soon to examine his property and escort him back to L.A. for further questioning."

Angel heard but he couldn't believe what the officer was telling him. It was like some crazy novel unfolding about them, just when you thought everything would be okay in the lives of the lovers in the story; the writer would throw in some twist.

"Mr. O'Connor?" The officer said when Angel didn't move or say anything.

"Yeah, I'm going. Thank you." He said, getting up and leaving. Going to the front desk he collected his  
things, Spike was waiting for him in the waiting area. Whilst Angel caught a cab to the hospital, Spike  
caught one back to the mall to collect his car and then arranged to meet with Angel outside the hospital  
when Buffy was ready to leave. He felt bad for Angel, the man had searched for this woman for months only to find her and have her reject him because she doesn't know him. Spike couldn't have dreamed up a worse punishment. No, he thought, at least she's alive.

TBC…


	12. Chapter 12

Title: The Night That Changed Everything

Chapter: 12

Author: Neamh1

Disclaimer: Not Mine

AN: OOHHH getting there, hope you guys enjoy this chapter, one more to come! happy reading...

Angel arrived at the hospital and waited patiently as the nurse behind the main desk finished her phone call. Honestly he didn't know what he was going to say to Buffy when he saw her. 'Hi honey, how's our baby' didn't really seem like the best thing. The nurse finished her call and he gave her Buffy's details, waiting as she looked through the computer and gave him the room number.

"The doctor would like to speak with you first before you go to see her. If you'll go up to the third floor and go into waiting room he'll be in with you shortly." Angel nodded and followed the nurses instructions and thankfully the doctor didn't take long to come to him.

"Mr. O'Connor?"

"Yes, how is she?" Angel asked; his first concern was how she had come to have amnesia.

"Well she seems to be suffering from global amnesia, which is the total memory loss. This may be a defence mechanism that occurs after a traumatic event. The police mentioned that she was kidnapped? It's likely that this is the event that her mind is trying to forget. There isn't anything we can do for her but you should know that post-traumatic stress disorder could also involve the spontaneous, vivid retrieval of unwanted traumatic memories. It is important that she's not left alone for long periods of time. Surrounding her by familiar things is likely to trigger these memories and bring them to the surface. Her pregnancy is causing...complications. She's just past her due date and we don't want to cause stress to the baby so we need her as calm and relaxed as possible, the return of one of these memories could cause problems and result in an emergency C-section at worst."

"What do I need to do then? I can't leave her here." Angel said, trying to let all the information soak in.

"No, but when you get her home try to keep her in the house. Don't take her to places that she often visits, just until after the birth. I've spoke with her Doctor, err you're sister, and she's suggested that you might speak with Buffy about going in within the next few days and inducing her labour."

"Is that safe?" Angel had no experience with these things but if his sister thought it was best then it probably was.

"I'd say it was the safest thing to do but you can speak with her later when you get back to L.A. Dr O'Connor has asked that you take Buffy to see her the day after you arrive back home. Miss Summers is ready to go home now if you want to go and collect her. If you have any more questions before you go I'll be around for the next hour, ask the nurse on reception to page me."

"Thank you doctor." Angel said as the doctor left him alone in the room. Not only had he gotten Buffy back but also in a couple of days he could be holding his child. The news was a bit too much all at once and he took a few moments for himself before seeking out her room. He knocked on the door softly before entering, not wanting to intrude on her if she was resting. Popping his head around the door he smiled cautiously at her as he entered. She was sitting up on the edge of the bed apparently waiting for him.

"Hi." He said, not knowing what else to say.

"Hi." she replied.

They stood in silence for a few moments, trying to get past the awkwardness of the situation. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, I guess, should I get some things from the house first or...or is all my stuff back at my house?" She asked and noticed that he winced. "What?" She knew there was something he wasn't telling her.

"Maybe we should just go and I'll tell you later after you've rested and we're home." Angel said, not wanting to upset her by having to explain what Riley had done to her home. In her eyes Riley was the man who had cared for her for the past five or six months and she was being told all these awful things about him. He just hoped that she didn't hate him for telling her the truth when it finally all came out.

"No, tell me now." She said leaving no room for argument.

"Well it's just that you've been living with me because there was a problem with your house."

"What problem?"

"It got...burned down."

"What?!" She leaned back more onto the bed and put her hands to her head, "How? No don't answer that, I suppose Riley did it right?" She had only learned a little about what had happened, that Riley had apparently kidnapped her and that she was a friend with Liam O'Connor and that he had found her and tried to rescue her. The police had said that they were keeping Riley in custody until he could be questioned further.

"I'm, sorry. I have a lot of your things at my place though. You'd already moved in before it happened and got the majority of your things. You can look trough them when we get back. And I know Faith would love to see you."

"Who's Faith?" Buffy asked, assuming that it was either family or friends but wanting to clarify.

"She's your best friend, and she's in a relationship with my best friend, that's how we met, well sort of."  
He said with a lopsided grin that caused butterflies in her stomach. "Anyway, I need to call Spike to get  
him to come and collect us. We'll just need to make a quick stop at the hotel before we head back, if we  
leave now we can get back at about nine if the traffics not bad."

"Okay," she said taking a deep breath, "let's go." She said and followed him out of her room and down to the reception area where he used the phone to call Spike.

"He'll be here in a few minutes, do you want to wait in here, it's pretty cold outside," he asked, worrying about her health and that of his child's.

"No, I need to get some fresh air, besides I hate hospitals." she said and they walked outside to wait.

"Do I know Spike?" she asked, the name meaning nothing to her, but then again neither did Liam's.

"No, he's a PI I hired to find you after the cops came up blank. It took him a while but we found you." He smiled to her. He wanted so badly to take her in his arms and just hold her but he didn't want to scare her.

"Liam?" she asked, she didn't know if she really wanted to know the answer to this question but she had to ask.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"I need to know something and I want you to tell me the truth, do you know who the father of my child is?" She watched as he averted his eyes for a moment then looked back to her.

"Me." he said simply and she nodded having the slightest feeling that it seemed right.

"And... are we together?" she asked, needing to know her situation.

"I'm not sure that we should be discussing this Buffy, the doctor said-"

"Screw the doctor!" she shouted, he reached out quickly when he saw her sway, his arms wrapped around her waist he steadied her.

"Are you alright?" he asked worried and about to shout for a doctor to help them.

"I'm fine, just a little emotional right now so tell me what I asked." she snapped at him as she pushed his arms away and stood on her own steadily.

"We, we were getting there but it was complicated. We went out together and the night was perfect and then my sister showed up and she slipped up that you were pregnant with my baby. You ran off upset and that was the last time I saw you before today." he said.  
Neither of them said anything more and when Spike arrived Angel opened the back door for Buffy. They both got inside and Spike drove them back to the hotel in silence. Buffy waited in the car whilst he ran up to the room and grabbed his things, he was back into the car in minutes and they were on there way to L.A...to home.

"Do you think there's enough balloons?" Faith asked Gunn as she threw yet another one onto the floor of Angel's apartment.

"I think if you put any more balloons in here Buffy's going to fall over as soon as she walks in and decide that she doesn't like you before she can remember how wonderful you are." Fred said laughing.

"I don't know what else to do." she said, slumping down on the sofa.

"You don't need to do anything else, this is enough." Gunn said.

They all heard a key turning in the door and they jumped up, Faith flicked the lights off and went to hide behind the sofa with Gunn and Fred. Angel walked into the apartment first followed by Buffy and when he turned the lights on they all jumped up from behind the sofa, Faith and Fred shouted Welcome Home! And nearly startled Buffy into labour.

"Faith?" she whispered to Angel.

"Faith." he confirmed with a smile.

"And the other one?"

"My sister Fred, the guys Charles Gunn." Faith ran around and gave Buffy a huge hug, "God I'm glad you're home, and look at you, you're the size of a house!" she said checking out Buffy's huge belly.

"Thanks, I think." Buffy replied with a nervous smile at the three people she didn't know staring at her.

A fourth person appeared in the doorway, a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes entered the apartment saying hello to everyone. "Glad to see you back Buffy." She said, "Sorry, I'm Kate, we've met before."

"Hi." Buffy replied.

"Hi Buffy, how are you feeling?" Fred said as she came up to Buffy and placed a hand on her stomach.

"I'm fine." Buffy said feeling a little uncomfortable with all these unknown people touching her.

"We've done food, we thought you might be a little hungry after your drive." Faith said taking Buffy's hand and pulling her over to the sofa, the food was piled on Angel's coffee table.

"Thanks," Buffy said as Faith piled a plate high with food and handed it to her.

"Angel, come sit down." Fred said when she noticed her was the only one standing still.

"I will in a minute, I just want to go and change." He disappeared into his bedroom and pushed the door shut.  
Dumping his bag on the bed he rubbed his hands over his face. He was tired and all he'd wanted to do was be alone with Buffy. Instead he had come home to an apartment full of people, people they both loved and considered family. He felt bad for wanting them all to leave; he hadn't really spent much time with them in the last few months, as he'd kind of cut himself off from everything. He really should go back outside and have some food with them but his bed looked so tempting.

"Don't you dare." He turned around and saw Buffy standing inside his room by the door; she closed it behind her.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked, not sure what she was talking about.

"You were thinking about going to sleep and leaving me outside with them." She accused and he began to protest but stopped and nodded when he saw the look on her face.

"I just didn't expect this, and I'm tired, PI work is tiring," he said sitting down on the bed.

"Do you want to ask them to leave?" she asked, joining him. She was starting to feel more comfortable around him; it had begun in the car on the way back to L.A. It was like she felt that he remembered the feeling of being in his presence but couldn't remember him.

"No, they've gone to a lot of hard work, it wouldn't be fair." he said, "Are you tired, did you want to go  
to bed?"

"I'm all right yet, honestly that food is really great and I am starting to get hungry again. I'll have some  
more and then go to sleep I think. Are you going to come out with me?" She asked.

"Come on then." he said, getting up form the bed and offering her his hand. She took it after only a moment of hesitation and they went back outside to celebrate with their friends.

"Buffy...are you up yet?" Angel called through her door the next morning. He had made an appointment with Fred for ten o'clock that morning and it was nearly nine now.

"No, I'm sleeping, come back later." she called and he smiled.

"We have to get ready, we're supposed to be at the hospital in less than an hour."

"Can't we go later? I'm tired, it's way too early to get up." she wined yawning. She got even worse at getting up in the mornings since she was pregnant. The first night she could remember she had only been a small way along and she was okay getting up early but recently she would have never gotten up before at least ten thirty.

"No we can't, you promised Fred remember?" he called back. "I'll start the shower running for you so hurry up or you'll be taking a cold one." He heard her groan but then heard her pottering around in the bedroom so he went and started running the water and then went to his room to change.  
They had spoken with Fred last night about inducing labour and Buffy wasn't keen on the idea. She'd seemed terrified of the birth and had gripped Angel's hand whilst Fred had talked her through things. They had agreed to go to the hospital today so that Fred could check her over and see if it was time to start Buffy off or if she needed a little more time to give the baby for coming on his or her own.  
Buffy had finally gotten ready that morning and they had made it to the hospital ten minutes late but Angel was just glad that he had gotten her there. Fred had called them in straight away; she'd been waiting for them and had started to get worried.

"Hi Buffy, do you want to go and change into the gown and we'll check you over? Give me a shout when you're ready." Fred said and Buffy disappeared form her office into the examination room.

"How did she sleep?" Fred asked, still a little worried.

"Like a log, I couldn't get her up this morning, she wanted to stay in bed."

"Kate called me this morning; she said she couldn't get hold of you. She wanted me to tell you that they have Riley in custody but he's causing problems. He's gotten himself a good lawyer and they can't hold him for more than 24 hours without evidence that he kidnapped Buffy." Fred said, knowing that the news was not going to please her brother.

"So what is she going to do? She can't just let him go, what is he comes after Buffy, again? She's pregnant! And I only just got her back..."

"Don't worry about it. Kate said if it comes down to that she'll have an officer placed outside your apartment just to be safe and they'll keep tabs on Riley. There really isn't anything she can do, she's bound by law." Buffy stuck her head out and told Fred that she was ready.

"Are you doing a scan?" Buffy asked when Fred reached the door.

"Yeah, we'll just take a look at the baby and see how it's doing."

"Has Angel seen the baby yet? On scan I mean?" Buffy asked, shooting a quick glance to him; he was sitting behind Fred's desk still but couldn't hear them.

"No, he didn't know the last time I saw you and you've been...gone since then." Fred replied.

"Okay, you go in, I'll be in in just a second." Buffy said and waited until Fred had gone in and closed the door. Taking a deep breath she walked to Angel and placed her hand on his shoulder. He turned in surprise and frowned when he found her looking down at him.

"What's wrong? Are you all right?" he asked, worried and wondering why she wasn't already in with Fred.

"I'm fine, you worry too much." she smiled, "I wanted to ask if you wanted to come in with me and see the baby." She was unsure of what his reaction was going to be and he could tell.

Angel stood up and pulled her into his arms for a hug then whispered in her ear, "Thank you."

"Buffy...are you ready?" Fred called form the door.

"We're ready." Buffy said. She took Angel's hand and they walked through together into the examination room. Buffy lay down on the bed and Fred applied the cold liquid to her belly.  
Angel watched in fascination as Fred moved the stick around Buffy's belly and a video of the baby came up on the monitor. The baby moved around and Fred took pictures and he looked back to Buffy's stomach and saw the movements on the outside as well and he smiled.

"Okay, everything seems fine. I think we can hang on a couple of more days, let's book you in for Wednesday next week and that gives you a good 8 days extra. If you have any concerns though then come straight in, I'd like to see you every couple of days for a check so come in the day after Thursday." Fred said, making some notes.

"Fred, don't you think we should do this sooner, the doctor in Sunnydale said..."

"Angel, I'm her doctor aren't I?" Angel nodded, knowing that he was going to get one of his sisters speeches that she was the doctor in the family not him. "Well then, could you trust that I'm going to take care of her please; I'm the doctor not you. Now out so Buffy can change into her clothes."

Buffy changed her clothes and they left the hospital together. As they headed to the car Buffy asked him a question, "How come your sister, Faith and Gunn call you Angel? I thought your name was Liam."

He smiled to her and explained, again. "It's my first name, I use my middle name Liam, but my family and close friends call me Angel."

"Do I call you Angel?" she asked, not wanting overstep her boundaries without checking if it was okay first.

"You did." He said, "But it's okay if you don't want to at the moment, I understand."

"No, I mean, it's okay. I feel like I know you, I feel comfortable around you, at least now I know that your not trying to kidnap me." she laughed nervously.

"Angel?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do all these bad things keep happening to me?" His heart ached for her and he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side. She came willingly and he held her close as they walked the  
rest of the way to the car.

"It ends today, you're safe now and I'm going to take care of you...if you'll let me," he added as an afterthought. She might not want him to take care of her, she didn't really remember him, and she might feel as though he was pushing things too fast but to his relief she put her arm around his waist.

"I'd like that." she said.

TBC…


	13. Chapter 13

**Title: The Night That Changed Everything**

**Chapter: 13**

**Author: Neamh1**

**Disclaimer: Not mine**

**Authors note: Okay guys, last chapter! Just to say thank you to everyone who's stuck by me through this story and for all the great feedback that i've received. Also thanks to my beta, she knows who she is, she's done a great job. Hope you all enjoy this last chapter, thanks, Neamh xx**

"Angel?" Buffy called from the sofa in Angel's apartment.

"Yeah?" he called back; he was sorting out the Chinese food they had ordered in.

"Is it going to be much longer?" He laughed and realised how good it felt being able to laugh again.

"I'm on my way." he called back and shook his head when she shouted back that he'd been saying that for the last ten minutes. Carrying a tray in with her food on it and a glass of fruit juice, he handed her the tray and then went back to get his own. "Did you pick out a film?" he asked sitting on the other end of the sofa.

"Yeah, it's all ready in. God I'm starved." she said, a little nervous. She wanted to tell Angel what had happened earlier on after they'd returned from the hospital but knew that he would see it as a big deal  
and start worrying. In the same way she also knew that keeping the baby a secret from him had been the problem in the first place and she wasn't going to make that mistake again.

"Me too, are you ready?" he said holding the remote to the TV and pressing play.

She decided she was going to tell him after they'd eaten, that way she wouldn't put him off his food or  
drive him into calling his sister or Faith for a second opinion. So they ate and watched the film in  
comfortable silence, then Angel took out their dishes and placed them in the dishwasher before returning to her.

"What would you like to do now? Do you want to go to bed, you look a little tired?" he asked.

"Actually, I want you to come and sit with me for a bit and watch some TV." she said patting the seat  
next to her. He smiled, pleased with the idea of spending more time with her alone and took the  
proffered seat. "I remember you." she blurted out then turned away from him quickly unwilling to see his reaction.

"What?" he said after an extremely long delayed reaction.

"I said I remember you." she said again but quieter this time.

"Buffy this is great!" he said pulling her into his arms and holding her close, "How much do you  
remember?" he asked excitedly.

"Not much...well...it was a good memory but I'd hoped for a bit more." she said disappointed.

"Tell me about it?" he wanted to know exactly what she had remembered of him feeling flattered that he was the one she had remembered first, before anything or anyone else. Of course it could be because she'd spent more time with him than anyone else lately but he wasn't going to let that fact dampen his mood.

"I remember us...being..." she swallowed the lump in her throat trying to get it out, "Intimate." Angel  
looked at her in surprise. That was her first memory, but she was right, it was a good one.

"Oh." was all he could make come out of his mouth, "Well, that's good right? You're beginning to remember things, you know now that I'm not a stranger," he said pulling back slightly.

"Oh definitely not a stranger." she laughed nervously, thinking back to the dream she had earlier whilst  
resting. "I didn't mean to make things awkward, I just thought you should know, and you did ask. You did want to know didn't you? I should have kept it to myself; I knew it! Now things are going to be strained and you're the only one I remember!" she said standing up from the sofa, alarmed that she might have made things worse for herself by revealing what she had recalled.

"Buffy..." Angel took her hand and pulled her back down to sit on the sofa. "It's not a bad thing I  
promise you, and I'm more than happy that you remembered me. Maybe it's because the experience was such a good one that you remembered it first. It means a lot to me. Things will be even better now, you'll see. Now come here and we'll watch some TV like you wanted." He pulled her into his arms and leaned back, it felt so right to have her there in his arms and he just hoped that they could work through everything together that they hadn't gotten past before she disappeared. Things were definitely going to be strained once the baby was born, he was just glad that he could be there for her and that she seemed comfy enough with him to allow some contact between them. It had been torture for him since he found her. All he wanted to do was to hold her and kiss her until they were both breathless. He looked down at her at the same time she looked up at him; a soft smile graced her face.

Buffy looked at Angel, the love she could see shining through his eyes made her want to cry, to know that someone could love her so much; how could she have ever forgotten him? That love soon turned to fire, a fire burning so intensely she felt it radiate through her and closed her eyes as his lips descended upon her own, brushing in a feather soft kiss that sent tingles through her whole body. It was over too soon and Angel seemed to pull away completely.

"I'm sorry, Buffy. I shouldn't have done that, it wasn't fair." he said and sat up taking his arm from  
around her.

"Why? I thought we like each other, I know I like you." she said.

"Do you? You remember us being intimate but that's all. You don't know what happened after that and you don't know if you still liked me before you disappeared."

"You told me we went out together and were dancing and everything was going perfect until we were  
interrupted!" she said back a little annoyed that he was turning everything around when they'd been having such a good evening.

"How do you know I'm telling the truth? I could be lying to you, telling you anything!" he said back just as sharply, annoyed with himself not her.

"Because I trust you!" she shouted then doubled over in pain groaning. Angel instantly jumped up and helped ease her down onto the sofa, "Buffy I'm sorry, are you alright? God what have I done?" he panicked, thinking that he had caused her so much stress that the baby was in danger as well.

"It's not you; it's the baby. My water just broke, we need to get to the hospital-NOW!" she shouted as  
another painful contraction hit her. Angel picked her up and carried her to the car as carefully and quickly as he could, "Should they be coming this fast, Fred always said they started off slowly." he said worried as he fastened her seat belt and ran around to the drivers side.

"I don't know, just get me to the hospital." She groaned.

They made it to the hospital in exceptional time; Angel carried her inside and started shouting for a  
nurse. A nurse came quickly with a wheelchair and he placed Buffy in it then they all went to the Labour Ward and Angel gave them Fred's name and they said they would page her. After the nurse left her moved to the side of the bed that Buffy was lying in and took her hand and kissed it.

"I'm so sorry, how are you doing?" he asked and she groaned again. "Breath Buffy, deep breaths, it will  
help, I promise." he said and she began taking deep breaths but quickly lost her rhythm when Fred walked in. Fred smiled and adjusted the oxygen pipes and handed the mask to Buffy.

"What happened?" Fred asked Angel as she checked Buffy's vitals.

"Her water broke, we were..." He stopped what he was about to say and Fred glared at him.

"You were what?" she asked carefully.

"Talking...heatedly," he winced as he said the words

"and her water broke and she started having contractions." Angel rushed out and stroked Buffy's  
forehead soothingly.  
"Angel, you should know better than to argue with a pregnant woman! What were you thinking?" she scolded her brother then turned her attention back to her patient. "Buffy, I need to check how far along you are, Angel, can you wait outside please?"

"No, stay." Buffy gasped and then started to giggle. Angel looked to his sister with a frown, "Don't worry it's just the oxygen, it's makes people that way sometimes. Are you sure you want him to stay?" Buffy nodded and giggled again and so Fred checked how far along she was. "Well, you're getting there… and fast, six centimetres. You'll probably be ready in about half an hour or so at this rate, have you decided on any sort of pain relief?"

"Epidural?" Buffy asked.

"We can but I don't really think you need one. Your progressing really fast and there are risks with an epidural. Why don't we keep you on the gas a while longer, if the pain gets too much we could try a  
pethidine injection?"

Buffy looked to Angel for his opinion, "Fred knows best, but it's your decision." he said softly.

"Okay." Buffy replied.

"All right then, I'll stay in the Labour Ward but I have a few other patients to check on. If you need me just press the nurse button I'll be right in here okay?" She said to Angel and he nodded nervously. He didn't like he idea of being left alone; he didn't know what to do. How was he to make the pain easier for Buffy to handle or what to say to take her mind off it?

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Fred squeezed his arm before she left to do her rounds.

Buffy put the mask to her face again as another contraction coursed through her body. The oxygen made her light headed and helped slightly with the pain although she could feel it still. It took the edge  
off.

Angel pulled a chair up to the side of her bed and held her hand not knowing what he should do. "I'm  
really sorry. I don't know what I would have done if I'd caused you or the baby harm by arguing." He began.

"Angel it's fine, I'm way ready for this baby to come out and if arguing with you made that happen then I'm glad. Can't say that I'll still be so glad once the real pain kicks in but I'm sure you can take it." She said with a smile and he smiled back.

"Can I get you anything? Do you want a drink?"

"Some water would be good thanks." she said and watched as he left the room to go and get her a drink. She smiled thinking about her one and only memory. He was right; it was a great memory. She remembered the feel of his skin, the way he made her feel when he touched her, the taste of him. She remembered making love to him a number of times that night, then again  
the morning after in the shower...

Angel walked back in the room to find Buffy staring at him as thought she was going to kill him, "What's wrong, are you in pain, should I get Fred?"

"No, just explain to me why you made love to me when you had a girlfriend?" she asked then quickly placed the mask over her face, breathing through her next contraction.

"I don't think we should really be talking about this now. I promise after the baby is born..."

"Damn it Angel! You'll tell me now or this baby won't be born, I'll keep it inside for ever!" she shouted at him and despite her anger he tried his best not to smile at what she said.

Fred had heard Buffy shout as she'd past their room and quickly stuck her head in, "Is everything okay?" She wondered what her brother could have possibly done now to make Buffy so angry.

"I don't know, come back in a few minutes and see if there's a body to clean up would you Fred?" Buffy snapped and Fred gave her brother a sympathetic look before nodding and ducking out of the room. Fred knew better than anyone how irrational women in labour could be. Now it was her brother's turn to find out. After all, he was the one who planted the seed. She thought with a smile.

Back inside the room...  
"Well?"

Angel sighed, "You remember everything that happened that morning?" He asked and saw her nod, the mask over her face again, pain contorting her features. "Well, the woman who barged in on us is called Darla, she's my ex-girlfriend. We'd been spilt up a while but I'd forgotten to take her key from her. She barged in making ridiculous claims on me and you were so shocked that you ran out of my apartment without letting me explain."

"Do I already know all this? Have you already explained this once?" she asked.

"Yeah, and if it sways you in the direction of not killing me...you believed me." he said with cute one  
sided grin.

"Water." she said and he quickly helped her take a sip from the glass then he paced it on the small cabinet and sat back down; helping her breath through the contractions as they came and speaking soothing words to her.

Fred checked in from time to time, checking how far along Buffy was and offering a pethidine  
injection when the oxygen was no longer working. Buffy had been in labour for 91/2 hours when she gave up trying, too exhausted to go on any longer.

"I can't, no more," she gasped out and Fred looked up.

"Come on Buffy, just a little longer and you'll be able to hold your baby." Fred encouraged.

"No."

"You can do this Buffy I know you can. God I'm so proud of you, you're doing great, now push!" Angel said stroking her hair away from her face.  
Angel's words penetrated through the haze of pain and exhaustion and she almost screamed as she pushed harder than before. Taking hold of the hand he offered, she squeezed as she pushed one last time as hard as she could.

"That's it, almost there..." Fred said helping Buffy by gently pulling the child from her and placing the baby on Buffy's chest. "It's a girl, you have a daughter." Fred said in awe. She'd delivered many babies before but it just didn't compare to delivering your own niece!

Buffy stared at the child lying against her chest then looked up to Angel who seemed to be having as many conflicting emotions as she did but the one that stood out most was love, and it didn't fade or disappear when his gaze shifted to look at her.  
A nurse came in the room and took their daughter across the room and cleaned her up whilst Fred made  
sure that Buffy was okay. Angel kept staring between Buffy and his daughter… his daughter. He couldn't believe it! He vowed there and then that he would never let Buffy slip out of his life again; he would do whatever it took to keep her. As soon as she was well enough again he would propose to her. He wanted nothing more than to have her as his wife and to spend the rest of their lives together. He wasn't doing it because they now had a daughter together. He was doing it because he loved her beyond reason, beyond doubt or hesitation and he was going to prove that to her. They had a new chance at a life together and he didn't intend on wasting it with 'what ifs'.  
The nurse returned then and offered him his daughter. He took the tiny bundle from her arms and marvelled as she opened her eyes and took her first look at him.

"I think she already knows her daddy." Buffy whispered from the bed next to where he stood. She watched as Angel moved closer and sat on the edge of her bed holding their daughter.

"She's so perfect, just like her mother." he said turning his gaze to Buffy. "I love you, I just wanted  
you to know that." He said and was surprised but pleased when she leant in and kissed him softly.

"And I love you...both" she added with a kiss to their daughter's forehead.

Neither of them knew what lay ahead but they had hope that they could work through things and they made a silent vow that no matter what, they would always love each other.

The End.


End file.
